The Bad Cut
by Ozzallos
Summary: The whisper of wind. The hint of movement. That was all it took for Ranma Saotome's life to be turned upside down after the surprise engagement to one Akane Tendo. Ranma!chan.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

"_Ohhh.._. So hungry..."

**I**t wasn't the first time Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts had uttered those words, nor did she doubt it would be the last as she trudged along an overgrown rain forest path that gave shoddy, unkempt paths a bad name. A quick glance at the sky revealed dense clouds burgeoning with moisture, causing the redhead to scowl once more as her current predicament was rammed home with unyielding clarity. It was now month eight since her father's latest training catastrophe, and that catastrophe went by the name of Jusenkyo.

Her location at the moment was the Bayankala Mountain Range in the Qinghai Province of China. '_The ass end of China_,' Ranma more precisely defined her geographic coordinates, grousing on just how she come to be in what she now considered her own personal hell on Earth. In the space of months, the once male martial arts heir had acquired a female body with the application of cold water and somehow gained her own personal Chinese Amazon assassin out for her blood.

_'Goddamn Panda_,' the redhead snarled mentally as she began to climb over a series of downed trees that had been wrenched from their footing sometime in the last decade to block the trail. Her old man's spectacular failure was also why she was tracing her way through the outback of China and not helping him set up camp. Taking him along to scout for food seemed like yet another prelude to disaster in Ranma's eyes, so she was more than happy to let laze around to heat up some water while she hiked to the nearest village. It also represented time alone. Listening to him bitch and moan about weak girls this and pathetic girls that got old fast, and this hike was a small price to pay for some respite.

Another ten minutes of hiking saw her disheveled trail open up along the hillside she had been trudging down, clearing of the dense foliage and opening up into what was on any other day a spectacular view of the valley below. Today, the martial artist from Japan barely paid attention to the scenic outlook of lush greenery partially concealed by a veil by fog, and instead focused on the modest village nestled therein. After a moment of silent study, her eyes flicked back to the massive clouds that hung heavily in the sky, likewise noting the sun was well on its way to the horizon now that she had a clear vantage point from which to view it.

_'Food, hot water, maybe spend the night before getting back,' _ Ranma prioritized, deciding that the last of day's light would be spent getting to the village. Her eyes flicked back to the rolling clouds for a moment, prompting her to crack a rare smile. '_Old man's gonna get soaked tonight_,' she chortled internally, turning back down the trail. With any luck, she would make it into the village before- Movement caught her eye; somebody or something running toward her from around the next bend accompanied by the sharp twang of Mandarin hitting her ears seconds later.

"Stop! Thief!"

Ranma turned fully toward the commotion, finding a man running down the same path with another in hot pursuit. The fact that the first was a thief meant that she would probably trip him as he passed so the second could catch up. The fact that he was a thief running in her direction with a full bowl of food ensured she was going to relieve him of said food with a kick to the face.

"Mine! All mine! _Whahaha!_" The cackling thief in black was so intent on his prize and subsequent escape that he paid virtually no attention to the karate gi clad girl as he ran past, only realize at the last possible second that she had stepped directly into his path. Shock didn't even had time to register as her left hand swept the bow from the Chinese brigand's grasp while simultaneously balancing on a single leg. The other thrust upward at an angle achievable only by the most devout gymnasts and slammed into his face, sending him skyward several meters.

The entire bowl of rice porridge was devoured by the time the thief hit the ground.

The victim in pursuit caught up to them seconds later, panting but quite stunned that not only had the robber been neutralized by this slip of a girl, but that she had taken the bowl for herself. He stared first at the inert man, then the young redheaded girl and her empty bowl. "You... You _ate _it."

There was only one thing on Ranma's mind in the face of such obviousness and she held out the bowl.

"More, please."

* * *

**The Bad Cut**  
Chapter **ONE**

* * *

**B**ad days. You didn't have to be a martial arts prodigy trained since early childhood to have one. They came in a variety of flavors, ranging from the bad hair day to the bad traffic day and all points in between. Fortunately for most people their bad day lasted exactly that long: A day. Some people, however, weren't quite as fortunate and their bad days turned into bad weeks. Maybe the boss was angry. The bills piled up. Excreta, excreta. Some theorize it was an unlucky star taking an unhealthy interest in their life while others simply assumed they deserved it. Whatever the social dilemma, the bad day decided to take up residence in their unfortunate victim's life and extend its stay. Bad months were entirely possible after that and if one were extremely unlucky, a bad year could be achieved.

Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts was having a bad _decade_.

It hadn't seemed that way at first, but then he simply wasn't old enough to know any better. As he grew up, however, it became obvious. Some of the component parts of his bad decade were still waiting in the winds to unknowingly bite him in the ass at a later date. Others were already well known to him and went by names like the Neko Ken, Jusenkyo and Amazons. There had been hope that upon his return to Japan he would leave the bad days behind; at least until his father announced that he had a hereto-unknown fiancée.

His first impression of the girl named Akane Tendo was that she was certainly cute, but then again she was also a girl that had offered to be his friend, and he had damn few of those growing up on the road; Even if the offer was made to his cursed form. The whole fiancée thing wasn't entirely out of the question until that initial first impression was blasted away and the real Akane was revealed. She was violent, rude, completely macho and the martial artist would be damned if he didn't return like for like, girl or no.

But she was cute when she wanted to be.

Now wasn't that time, however. Now Akane was doing her level best to add yet another component to that bad decade because apparently Ryoga and his super heavy umbrella and razor bandannas weren't enough for the girl to stop arguing.

_'...Just for one goddamn moment!' _Ranma groused even as structure beneath them gave way. Ryoga leapt in to press the attack, slicing at the pair with his rigid belt technique and forcing Ranma to gather the irate Tendo in his arms while simultaneously attempting to ablate the attack with her opponent's own umbrella. The clean slice through advised Ranma of the severity of the strike, but the red umbrella had done its job. Now she just had to land safely, ditch Akane and kick this fool's-

"Let go of me!"

_'Are you kidding?!'_Was the first incredulous thought through Ranma's brain as the girl renewed their argument. While under attack. And falling. This time the redhead couldn't help herself and bit back with a sarcastic glare. "What?! You don't think I'm holding you because I want to?!"

Ranma's reward was a hard slap across the cheek as they landed. Akane Tendo stared righteous indignation back at Ranma, her eyes tearing up slightly to confuse the redhead further. "Well if I'm such a nuisance then... then..."

And then she simply stomped off leaving Ranma stunned and wondering what just happened. It took a moment to reconcile the events and especially the tears, then turned to stop the girl's departure. "Akane?"

"IGNORE ME, WILL YOU?!" Ryoga's belt sliced in once more but Ranma was already ducking low under the strike.

"Give it a rest, will you?!" Ranma demanded and executed a handspring to kick the lost boy's weapon away before returning her attention to the angry girl, sprinting after her. "Akane! Akane...?"

"You don't have to explain," She almost sounded calm and for a moment, Ranma had hope that something could be salvaged from this train wreck of a challenge. A friend. Even a fiancée. Maybe they could- She whirled on him with a blistering anger flashing in her eyes dashing those hopes outright. "Because starting now, you and I are strangers!"

Ranma opened her mouth to protest, but the slightest whisper of the wind drew the redhead's attention as Akane stared him down; just enough to cause Ranma to glance up slightly... And catch the movement of a whirling buzzsaw bandanna arcing down upon them like a cloth scythe at the very edge of the redhead's peripheral vision. Adrenaline flooded the martial artist in that moment and she executed an impossibly graceful pirouette, grabbing the irate Tendo by the wrist and twisting her out of its path.

Ranma traded her position for Akane's with the momentum and while she knew it was going to be close, Ryoga's bandanna had no chance of touching her person as it cut a path through the air behind her. And she was right...

._..Almost._

The whirlwind hissed by the side of her head and cut into the ground, removing it as a threat. When her eyes returned to Akane, however, they were wide. Ranma stared, then noticed all of the other wide eyes around her. She glanced back and forth with uncertainty as everybody's attention remained fixated on her. "Ah, something on my face?"

"It's... It's..."  
"Oh my gosh!"  
"You poor thing!"

Ranma blinked. It was the last statement that got her attention and she followed the school girl's finger pointing into the ground behind her. She turned and saw red...

..._Hair_.

Her pigtail laid on the ground, half unraveled with strands casually blowing in the breeze. The martial artist's eyes widened in horror. It wasn't the lopped off length that now had her complete and undivided attention, but the mangled white strand that had once held it together; now completely shredded and unsalvageable.

Akane's eyes flicked back and forth from the hair to the girl and her crude cut. That had almost been her in that position, but Ranma had... Any anger from before evaporated with the revelation that it could have just as easily been her hair lying there on the ground and she tentatively raised a hand to offer a gentle apology. "Ranma, I'm ah... I'm..."

"I SAID DON'T IGNORE ME!" Ryoga roared from behind, taking full advantage of Ranma's exposed back for the finishing blow. It looked perfect in execution, with the redhead still stunned and completely unaware as the lost boy descended on her with both hands like a jackhammer. The girl's cheek twitched imperceptibly and she twisted left at the very last moment and rolled on her center of gravity to catch his right arm as it past closest to her... And gave it a hard yank down along his momentum.

Ryoga Hibiki augured face first into the ground, shattering the earth in a minor geyser of dust and stone that settled right back on top of him. Stunned, the Lost Boy tried to shake the stars from his vision and push himself out of the rubble. He had just enough time to reacquire the expressionless girl standing over him when her fist smashed into his left jaw, sending him back to the earth. This time blood trickled off of his lip as he floundered helplessly.

"Damn...Damn you Saot-" The cold gaze in the girl's eyes stopped him as he struggled to look up at his opponent.

Ranma simply stared at the teen lying at her feet through a tempest of emotions, most of which were advocate extreme violence in some way, shape or form. Her right arm flexed impatiently, straining... _wanting _to deliver another excessively violent blow to his face; excess held only in check by ten years of martial arts discipline. Instead, she delivered an ultimatum, suppressing the tremble of adrenaline in her voice with icy resolve.

"I won. You lost." The Anything Goes heir declared emotionlessly. "I don't care about your suffering, your issues or the hell you've seen. Pull this shit again and I'll _break _you."

Ryoga's eyes bulged with the overt threat. Whether he took the threat seriously or not was uncertain but he remained in the shallow crater, unmoving. The redheaded girl stared him down for a moment longer before turning to walk away, but was interrupted by Akane three steps later.

"Is... Is there anything I can do?" The youngest Tendo offered tepidly as she eyed the haphazard cut that had removed the girl's pigtail. The emotionless stare turned on her now and if Akane didn't know any better, gained a layer of frost. After another long moment, Ranma simply turned away as if the woman named her fiancée was beneath her notice. Akane simmered in kind. "It's just your hair, jerk!"

"How could you say that?!" One of her female classmates gasped, scandalized by the statement.

"Caught in public like that, Akane?" Another girl shook her head with wide eyes, as if living the experience for herself. "She's lucky she didn't just die!"

Akane's attention went back and forth between the girls as she was suddenly cast in the role of unsympathetic bitch and she turned back to the redhead in the hopes of reprieve. "Ranm-"

"I've had enough of your help, _Tendo_." Ranma shook her head and continued walking. Akane winced with the formal use of her family name and turned to her friends for support, but they all avoided eye contact and began to disperse with the rest of the crowd.

Akane Tendo was left in silence, all but alone on the soccer field save the remains of Ranma's mangled pigtail and one Ryoga Hibiki who was only now recovering enough to dig himself out. The girl watched as he shook the rubble off, glaring at the departing girl's back. "Now do you see why I hate that insufferable bastard?"

Finally there was somebody Akane could look down upon as well and she sniffed her contempt for the defeated boy and made her own departure, hoping maybe Ranma would cool down by dinner.

* * *

The family stared.

And stared.

For her part, Ranma simply ate dinner as if there was nothing the matter while studiously ignoring the eyeballs devouring her in their curiosity. The martial artist picked at the noodles on her plate in absolute silence until Nabiki Tendo finally broke the ice from her position at the table edge.

"That's a bad cut, Saotome."

Ranma suppressed the urge to feel at the misshaven sector on the back of her head and instead continued to eat, ignoring the overly obvious probe for information. Her father, on the other hand, followed with a slightly more pointed question.

"And why are you still a girl, boy?"

And that was the question of the hour. A slight tick found Ranma's cheek, but she suppressed that as well and continued to eat, ignoring her father outright. He was easier to ignore than Kasumi, who was the next to weigh in with almost motherly concern.

"Oh my," The eldest sister tilted her head as if she were trying to look around to the back of her future brother in-law's head. "What happened to your hair, Ranma-chan?"

Ranma finally stopped eating to cast a dead stare that wandered those present at the table until she simply shrugged in Akane's direction. "Ask Tendo there."

Nabiki blinked at the frosty reply as did the fathers. Genma fixed his son-turned-daughter with an annoyed look at the lack of respect for the fiancée chosen for her but all eyes eventually found Akane, who had been eating her noodles quietly from her corner of the table. The eating stopped but she continued to stare at the plate self consciously.

"Akane?" Her father asked carefully, stepping lightly around his daughter's uncharacteristically timid behavior.

"Yeah, what happened, sis?" Nabiki asked with her characteristic bluntness, causing Akane to look away.

"Ranma's fight today," Akane replied sullenly after a moment and the eyes returned to Ranma.

"You're slacking, boy." Genma was the first to comment, leveling a condescending look on his son while Nabiki simply shrugged now that the mundane nature of the incident was well known. Kasumi continued to look curiously at the butchered crop of hair. Ranma's eating paused once more as she shot another irritated glance at Akane.

"Now tell them _how _it happened." The redhead pressed and Akane's head snapped up with simmering indignation.

"I wouldn't have needed saving if you could have beat him as a girl!" The fiancée balked and this time Ranma all but snarled; the chopsticks flexing in her grip.

"Couldn't beat him as _what!?_" Ranma slammed the chopsticks to the table and bolted up from the table with a tempest brewing in her blue eyes; a tempest pointed solely at the youngest Tendo sister. Her fists balled angrily as she laid into the girl. "I controlled that fight from start ta finish! I kicked his ass as a boy _and_ girl _while _savin' yours!" The fuming martial artist jabbed at the back of her head and the absent pigtail. "The only reason I got_ this _is because you wouldn't _butt out!_"

The family sat stunned for a moment, staring at the pair as they stared one another down.

"Jeez, Saotome," Nabiki drawled after several tense moments, unable to see the big deal. "It's just hair, right?"

Ranma's gaze mechanically swiveled on the middle Tendo sister still smoldering with barely contained fury and for the first time in a long time, Nabiki Tendo felt the slightest edge of trepidation form up within the pits of her stomach.

"Just. _Hair_." The words were ground out in a manner that advertised to everybody watching that the girl was on her very last thread of emotional control. If Ranma's tone didn't make it plainly obvious, her grinding jaw and clenched fist should have. The death stare into Nabiki Tendo last several seconds longer than necessary before Ranma broke by favoring Akane with a glare. A contemptuous snort followed and the martial artist spun away from the table to stomp out of the room. A door slammed seconds later.

The remainder of the family simply stared at the point where Ranma had disappeared from sight for a full minute before turning back to Akane whose eyes in turn flicked back and forth until she finally turned away in embarrassment. Nabiki merely shrugged and went back to eating, though Kasumi too put down her chopsticks and rose to height. Questioning looks followed and she simply smiled demurely for them.

"Maybe I can help by evening it out just a bit," She offered, then turned to Nabiki. "If you could clear the dishes for me when everybody is done, imouto?"

Nabiki arched an eyebrow and wanted to say 'no', but nobody said no to Kasumi and thus bobbed her head, allowing the older sister to depart after Ranma to leave Nabiki, Akane, Soun and Genma to wonder at the situation. The Tendo Patriarch studied his daughter doing her level best to avoid eye contact then turned to Genma with a questioning look.

"Old friend...?"

"I don't know." Genma stated simply, already anticipating the question. To say the behavior was atypical was a vast understate since Ranma was very rarely prone to such intense outburst. Sure he got upset and even pissed off, but like this? Not even finding out he had a fiancée had pressed the boy this badly. It took a lot to push the boy as he had just witnessed and over _hair_of all things? Genma Saotome shook his head, equally mystified. "I don't know, but I'll find out."

* * *

**R**anma Saotome couldn't sleep.

Between his old man's interrogations and the day's happenings, she was entirely too keyed up to even think about sleep. Instead she found herself restlessly tracing a route through the house as the patter of rain beat against the roof outside. The world outside the window strobed blindingly for a split second and the storm beyond advertised its presence through the dull rumble of thunder. It was the last thing on Ranma's mind, however as she traced the path to the restroom and flipped on the light; squinting with the sudden illumination even as she slid the door shut.

Her vision cleared quickly enough and she turned to the only thing she had come for- The mirror. In it was the girl. Her cursed form. That body she had lived with off and on for nearly two years now. She was exotic; crystal blue eyes set upon flawless, almost porcelain skin. God only knew where the red hair had come from but it only served to enhance her already ethereal features. She frowned at it and instead cocked her head just enough to catch the back of her head at an angle where a pigtail used to reside. Ranma's hand reflexively reached up to feel along her scalp where several things used to be... The pigtail. The Dragon Whisker. _Her very manhood_.

Kasumi had done a decent job at leveling out the rougher cuts made by Ryoga's bandanna and now that red hair- sans pigtail -sat as a light, neck length crop that fell just shy of her shoulders; an effort that she had refused at first, though Ranma was rapidly coming to the conclusion that nobody refused Kasumi. A trim and styling followed in spite of her obstinacy, likewise enduring the subtle questioning as to what had gone so wrong.

_'If only you knew,' _Ranma shook her head mentally as she continued to feel through the layers of red hair. The martial artist knew what the others were thinking: That she was going ballistic over a simple pony-tail. They just didn't know... That fight had destroyed her seal and now it was either remain in this body or...

_'...Or become that monster,' _Ranma sighed audibly, her shoulders slumping as if an invisible weight had settled upon them. Ranma's gaze flicked back up to the girl in the mirror and she shook her head wearily. There was, of course, the possibility of a cure; another dragon whisker that would replace the one destroyed with her pigtail, but neither Ranma nor her reflection seemed convinced. _'Yeah, and where am I gonna find a dragon again?'_

She turned from the mirror and slapped the light off, exiting the restroom more depressed than ever. She stood silently in the hallway with only the patter of rain and her thoughts for company until a rattling inconsistent with the gusting wind drew her attention. She followed it to the living room, wondering at first if the porch door was loose until the lightning illuminated the world once more... And the silhouette of a person beyond the bamboo screen.

_'A burglar?'_ Ranma blinked and the rattle continued with more insistence. Once the initial shock had past, she couldn't help but to stare at the jiggling handle with mounting incredulity. _'But who would be stupid enough to break into a dojo?'_

The redhead shrugged. Who or why was unimportant. The fact that it meant an ass to kick instead of brooding over some nigh-impossible cure was and she set a course for the side door, opening it quietly. Cold rain greeted her exit but she ignored it and hopped up to the rooftop instead, cutting a diagonal line across its spine and shingles to the porch door under assault. Soft rattling greeted her ears over the rain's din and Ranma allowed herself a slight predatory smile as she peeked over the edge. Little more than a shadow with an umbrella could be discerned from her vantage point, but it was more than enough to ensure the robber- her victim -was still there and she executed a graceful flip off the roof to land behind the intruder in complete silence.

His efforts seemed to grow more insistent as Ranma looked on, studying the figure that looked oddly familiar. Familiar or not, she decided it was high time to stop the thief before he forced the door outright. "Something I can do for you, asshole?"

The shadow stiffened with her words then spun around. Ranma's predatory smirk turned into a frown. Her open hand flexed into a strained fist as recognition found a home in her brain. Red Umbrella, check. Yellow bandana, check. Pants and shirt that had seen one too many unwashed days in the outback, check. Ryoga Hibiki's eyes widened in kind with the unexpected encounter.

"YOU!" The first word of his mouth was in surprise. Everything after that was a snarl. "I've seen hell because-_OOooF_!"

He was never able to complete the sentence as the redhead slid in against the completely unprepared boy and buried a sucker punch deep into the Lost Boy's gut. Air exploded from his lungs and then his face exploded as she spun around and delivered a reverse roundhouse kick to his cheek. Stars and blackness danced across the staggering boys vision, though he retained enough awareness to register the next four hits in the combination she had set up- Two more to the ribs, a pressure point in the abdomen, then another punishing blow to the face. Ryoga Hibiki wobbled across the wet grass of the Tendo courtyard, barely remaining upright enough to hold the red umbrella overhead.

Ranma stared with disgust at her wobbling opponent as he fought to maintain his footing while realizing that even if he did, his former childhood classmate was no longer a threat. That hardly mattered to the soaked girl, who was seething inside.

"Ryoga." The martial arts demanded the Lost Boy's attention as she crossed the space to him. Ryoga tried to step back and away, but she had every advantage now. Her blue eyes flashed with the lightning overhead and she cracked her knuckles with the thunder. "What did I tell ya was gonna happen if you pulled this shit again?"

"I'll... I'll have my revenge Saotome!" The Lost Boy panted and tried to firm up his stance. Ranma cocked her head at his obsessive behavior but shook it with false sympathy.

"Should have taken the bread, Hibiki."

The girl was under his umbrella in the moment it took him to draw his next breath to protest and her elbow slammed into the rib that had already been hit thrice before. This time an audible crack sounded with the blow. Ryoga doubled over in pain and she grabbed his upper right arm as he fell, stepping past him in a fluid maneuver that tore it from its socket. Two more open palm strikes slammed into his face with the second round off by her elbow that in turn sent the fanged boy reeling. The grip on his umbrella finally faltered and cold rain hit him openly for the first time.

"_DAMN YOU!"_The lost boy roared and put every last ounce of strength into extricating himself from the battle. Ranma pulled back in case of a last minute gambit on his part but Ryoga blurred into the night just over the Tendo property wall. Ranma held her guard for a second longer then relaxed, standing alone in the rain as the lights came on in the house behind her. Much as instinct demanded she press the advantage, it wasn't as if he was going to get very far with that rib and she was already a soaked mess.

_'Whatever,'_She huffed and turned back to the house, finding Nabiki and Kasumi in pajamas, peering at her from the stairway upon entering.

"What was the racket, Saotome?" The middle sister questioned and it was immediately followed up on by her older sibling.

"We heard fighting..." Kasumi emoted concern, stepping past him to a shelf full of linen. She proffered Ranma one with the clear implication that she should use it to dry off.

"Hibiki was tryin' to break in." Eyes widened at Ranma's announcement as she toweled herself off. "Showed him the error of his ways."

"Send more bread his way?" Nabiki rolled her eyes with sarcastic amusement; amusement that died upon seeing Ranma's icy stare back at her.

"I dislocated his shoulder and broke a rib."

"Oh my," Kasumi intoned with a hand covering her mouth in the place of Nabiki's silence. She continued to talk in order to fill the uncomfortable silence between the pair. "We thought it might have been the piglet."

Now it was Ranma's turn to blink, unsure she heard correctly. _"Piglet?"_

"It got in somehow," Nabiki explained quickly, hoping to put the social faux pas behind her. "Akane's taking care of it; one of those cute miniature ones that people keep as pets. Looks pretty banged up from the storm."

Ranma shook her head at the unlikely series of events and tossed the towel back over her shoulder. "Well I'm freezing after running around in that rain after Ryoga. I'm going to get a... a hot..."

Both sisters watched as the redhead's voice trailed off, her face slowly developing into a frown. A single twitch developed along the girls' left cheek but she shook it off with a long sigh. Nabiki arched an eyebrow at the obviously conflicting emotions playing out across the Ranma's face until her thousand yard stare finally broke. "I'm hittin' the futon. Don't wake me up unless it's world war three or some-"

_"Bwee!"_

Three pairs of eyes instantly tracked on a small black streak as it passed between their legs, seemingly oblivious to their presence. It rounded the hallway corner and made a beeline toward the bathroom. Ranma arched an eyebrow, pointing in its general direction as it ran. "That wouldn't be...?"

"Akane's piglet appears to have run amok," Nabiki deadpanned and waved its presence off. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"Ranma, could you please make sure it doesn't cause any trouble?" Kasumi asked, prompting a less than energetic look from the martial artist.

"Sure, why not..." Ranma returned dully as her train of thought followed her tone of voice._ '...Since I'm apparently done takin' out the other trash tonight.'_ She followed the pig's path lethargically and opened the door it had managed to squeeze through even as it seemed to busy itself with the furoh facet controls. Ranma cocked her head and watched as it continued to jump on the knob oblivious to her presence. _'What the hell is it trying to do?'_

"Bwee! Bwee! Bwee!"

The redhead's eyes tracked it up and down as it tried to manipulate the hot water spigot, bouncing, then scratching at it furiously until it finally gained traction. Water started to trickle then flow with earnest as Ranma watched in amazement. _'That's one smart-'_

Any amusement she had over the scene died as the steam suddenly filled with the body of a nude teenage boy, complete with bandanna and fanged countenance. The newly transformed boy let out a sigh of relief but paused, realizing something wasn't quite right. He turned to find a growling redhead standing over him. Ryoga's eyes widened in horror.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill ya right now?"

The lost boy's mouth opened but the boy himself was at a loss for words. He was already battered and bruised by this same redhead and another round of that didn't bode well in his current condition. The pain in his ribs throbbed and the left side of his face just plain hurt. Still, he was at least able to summon the proper indignation, if not fight. "Because this is all you fault, Ranma!"

Her fist flexed impatiently. She had heard that before, but it was only the inclusion of a Jusenkyo curse that stayed her anger from visiting itself on Ryoga outright. "And how's that, Hibiki?"

"I followed you after you ran out on our duel!" The nude boy stood up out of the furoh, clearly incensed. Neither batted an eye at his state of undress as Ryoga continued. "I wandered through the vastness of China chasing you!"

Ranma stared at the implications inherent in his story and snorted with dead humor. "And ya followed me all the way to Jusenkyo where you got your dumb ass cursed."

"Yes!" Ryoga confirmed angrily. Ranma crooked a condescending smile.

"Serves ya right."

"WHAT?!" Ryoga bellowed and lunged at Ranma with an outstretched hand. The redhead simply sidestepped the already off balance attempt and grabbed the wrist as he passed. She yanked the boy out of the furoh and slammed him into the hard tile where she straddled his back, locking the arm behind his back. "Let me up, dammit!"

"Didn't I pop this joint once already?" Ranma eyed the shoulder and shrugged. "Oh well."

She pulled it through hyper-extension again and popped it neatly out of place, immediately followed by another cry of pain from Ryoga. She let him writhe under her for a moment longer before using her free hand to press his face forcibly into the tile.

"You're goddamn certifiable, you know that? Ya followed me to China on quest for revenge over _bread._" She pushed his head harder into the tile, grinding his jaw into the hard surface. "Well I'll tell ya what, Hibiki; You got off damn easy compared to me, which means I got no problems makin' it worse for you if you wanna keep pushin' it."

"You... You call that cute form a-ARRRARGH!" Ryoga tried rebuke the martial artist, but Ranma yanked on the dislocated shoulder to end his rebuttal with pain.

"In other words, quit while you're ahead," Ranma clenched her jaw as she struggled to contain the fury that was building up over the past injustices relived. "Before I do somethin' you might really regret."

"P-chan! Peeeeeeeee-chan!"

Ranma scrunched her brow at the name and Akane's voice coming from the hallway. _'P-chan,' _she mouthed, then looked down at Ryoga beneath her as two and two came together. "P-chan? _Piggy_-chan? Cute name, Hibiki."

"Don't look down on _murrrrrllff!_" Ranma simply pressed his face back into the tile and reached for the shower hose. She smirked at the lost boy and took aim.

"This'll make you a bit more manageable," She replied and triggered the shower head. It took less than a seconds worth of application to melt the Lost Boy into a black piglet, which she then snatched up by the bandanna, eyeing it. The piglet struggled and she chortled her amusement, poking at its nose. "Yeah I'm thinkin' this was the right curse for you after- OW!

The moment's worth of neglect was all it took for her index finger to wander within range of Ryoga's mouth and he bit down hard, securing his release. The black piglet fell back to the tile where it scrambled around Ranma even as she scrambled to catch it. Ryoga was out of the bathroom in a flash with Ranma in hot pursuit, stumbling out into the hallway seconds later only to watch as it made a beeline for Akane.

"P-Chan!" She put her hands down to scoop it up while simultaneously providing Ryoga with safe haven from the irate redhead. Akane looked at the battered piglet in wonder, then Ranma who had just exited the bathroom to stare it down. The math was easy for the youngest Tendo and she fixed a glare for Ranma's sake. "What in the world are you doing to this poor piggy?!"

Ranma was about ready to protest her innocence when another thought entered her mind. It caused the slightest arrogant smirk to manifest as she watched Akane Tendo clutch the piglet defensively. Ranma shook her head and simply walked by.

"He's all yours, Tendo."

* * *

**R**anma's next visit to the restroom was by dawns' early light upon being woken up by Kasumi. That in itself was a switch since that role had apparently been delegated to Akane in the week prior. _'Walkin on eggshells after last night,'_She reasoned, which suited her just fine. She needed the space and an Akane Tendo wakeup call was the very last thing she wanted at the moment. The cold rinse she was forced to partake of was the very next to last, but she had no choice in the matter and took her medicine like the man she was... Or used to be.

A queasy feeling settled in the redhead's stomach as she rinsed the last of the lather away with cold water while staring longingly at the warm water spigot.

_'Maybe...' _Her hand began to rise for the facet as the thought formed._ 'Maybe it's run its course. Maybe I don't gotta worry about it. Maybe...'_

The transfixed girl grasped the facet and began to turn slowly, allowing warm water to flow at a trickle, then a modest stream. Ranma repositioned her hands but paused before outright letting the water flow over them... She was scared. Hopeful. Uncertain.

"Feh." The redhead shook off those introspective emotions and set her jaw, plunging her hand into the flowing water. The change washed over her immediately and for the briefest of moments, the now male martial arts felt elation... At least until he felt the slick wetness of damp hair slithering down his bare shoulders.

"Aw, dammit!" Ranma panic and scrambled for the spigot, spinning it closed while simultaneously opening the cold water tap with his other hand. He all but dove under the facet and the curse took hold once more to the neo-girl's mixed relief. She recovered from the awkward position and stood up to catch sight of the nearest mirror. Her fears were instantly confirmed. Instead of the polite crop of hair she had went to bed with last night, she now wore a damp, dark red mane that fell to her mid back. Ranma stared at it for another moment before flicking a troublesome strand out of her eyes to join the rest, then addressed her reflection directly. "So much for that."

With any hope for an easy fix suitable squashed, the depressed martial artist turned away from the mirror and set about the task of dressing for the day, leaving the wet hair to its own devices. While there wasn't any silver lining to speak of concerning the entire debacle, the expressions on those waiting at the breakfast table were priceless.

"Oh..Oh my!"  
"What the hell, Saotome?"  
"Your hair!"  
"Um, Saotome-kun...?"  
"Better start explaining, boy."

Wide eyes tracked her person as she circled around to her position at the table as incredulous stares tracked her until she sat down at the open spot next to Nabiki. Once she had settled in, Ranma deemed an answer appropriate.

"It grew." With that, she began consuming the cold soba noodles even as the gawking continued.

"Overnight?" Nabiki starred, all but ready to reach out and give it a tug herself; an impulse curbed by the remembrance of the violence dispensed last night. Even so, there was no way it was fake. Not a chance. She shook her head at the impossibility. "That's just unnatural."

"But... But I just cut it..." Kasumi couldn't stop blinking, going so far as to lean forward in front of Nabiki to stare.

"And now its long again." Ranma irritably dismissed her curiosity with no intention and at offering an explanation, let alone having the patience to do so. An inhuman snort attracted her attention and she glanced down the table past her audience to find Akane staring back at her... With a little black piglet nestled in her lap. The sight prompted the slightest edge of a malicious smile even as Genma laid into his son turned daughter

"After breakfast you're going to lose that girlie hair," Genma ordered as he took the overly feminine details in for himself. "And after that, you're going to spend some time as-"

"How's the piggy, Tendo?" Ranma interrupted her father's rant; paying absolutely no attention to him at all. She had eyes only for Akane, who suddenly adopted a guard look. The black piglet's eyes widened suddenly and it began to squirm in the youngest Tendo's grasp.

"You're scaring him on purpose!" Akane accused, tightening her hold on the struggling piglet. Her gaze narrowed on the redhead. "You had better not come near him again!"

Ranma took one last bite of her soba and smirked, standing up from the table as the others watched the confrontation unfold. "Wasn't plannin' on it. But there's somethin' ya probably oughta know..."

The temperamental sister continued to glare even as Ranma turned to walk away. The suspicion in her tone was clearly evident. "What?"

"...That's Ryoga you're holdin' there." The martial artist chuckled and could all but feel the shock and awe at her back. Ranma stopped and glanced back to the suddenly wide eyed girl. The redhead decided the moment was perfect for the coup de gras as she walked away. "Hope ya didn't undress in front of him or 'nuthin."

Unadulterated chaos erupted in her wake.

* * *

**W**hatever joy Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts had achieved in poking Akane Tendo with a stick was blunted by her own poor performance later that afternoon. It was a well rehearsed scheme; one that she normally worked to absolute perfection. Ranma would dress in her favorite mao suit and commence to liberating the food stuffs from any and all of the unsuspecting vendors along her route. All she had to do was roll up, flash them the cutest smile they had ever seen and walk away with her arms full of goodies... Just not today.

Something was throwing off that fine tuned scheme and she suspected it had to do with the long mane of hair at her back. Simply put it, it didn't fit the cute-as-a-button image she was looking to project, which meant the only thing she was coming away with was a growling stomach.

_'Stupid hair curse,'_ The redhead groused as she thoughtlessly walked the dividing fence separating a street and canal. Her perfect balance gained more than a few stares, but she paid them little mind as she considered her next course of action. _'Ask Kasumi to cut it again? Pay somebody to chop it off?'_

Any idle musings on the topic were cut off as her attention was drawn to a standoff in an empty lot she was passing. Ranma watched as three masked figures faced off against one black haired schoolgirl. Most of their conversation was lost at her distance but something about Furikan and a match found her ear.

_'But what's with these guys and the bandages?'_a portion of her thought process wondered as the three arrayed themselves around the girl. Any question she could pose became moot as their actions spoke for themselves. All three charged simultaneously, bring the clubs they were wielding to bear on their target.

And then they got their asses kicked.

The clubs aided their wielders in no way as the school girl pulled out a ribbon and proceeded to whip the tar out of them. The ribbon snapped like a machine gun, forcing what she assumed were Furikan students back under the painful assault. Ranma shook her head at the pathetic display._ 'Guess it's up to me to put a stop to this before one of those chumps really gets hurt.'_

"Please forgive if I've failed to convey my message!" The ribbon spiraled through the air and the black haired girl have it a snap, as if to punctuate her apology. Painful yelps followed the staccato of cracks as she pressed her reprisal. "If I may restate it, this! Or this! Or this will be clearer!"

Her next volley, however, failed to land and she spun back around on her momentum to find the end of the ribbon taught in the hand of a redheaded girl. Ranma was about to call an end to the hostilities verbally when one of the masked figures called out over her in surprise, pointing.

"It's the martial arts girl from yesterday!" One exclaimed, causing Ranma to blink.

"The one with the really bad cut?" Another boggled. "But its super long now!"

"Who cares! Didn't she help Akane?" The final last of the trio chimed in desperately. "We're Akane's friends too! Help us beat this witch!"

It was the last statement that caused Ranma no small amount of moral pause. She looked from the masked figures whose voices sounded decidedly female to the schoolgirl attached to the other end of the ribbon. The black haired girl wait patiently for the outcome of the conversation and it was there that Ranma made a decision.

_'Akane's friends.'_ The statement left a decidedly sour taste in the redhead's mouth. It made her next decision all the easier. _'Who am I to butt in on chick fight?'_

The school girl blinked as the tension in her ribbon suddenly slackened. The girl had not only outright let go, but was now favoring her with a crooked smile. "Sorry about that. My bad."

"What?!"  
"No!"  
"You can't just leave us!"

"Seriously, three on one?" Ranma shook her head while her tone conveyed the disdain she felt. "Figures that's the kinda people Tendo would hang out with." She turned her back on them and threw them an uncaring wave over her shoulder. "Ja-ne."

Ranma hadn't taken ten steps when she was stopped by the schoolgirl's voice. "Girl. What is your name?"

The girl's cheek twitched with the gender reference, but she turned back regardless. "Saotome. Ranma. You?"

"Kuno, Kodachi; The Black Rose of St. Bacchus," The schoolgirl inclined her head respectfully. "Please do not forget it."

_'Kuno?' _Ranma boggled as the girl pulled a black rose from her book bag and flicked it toward her. Ranma caught it on pure reflex and watched her bound off in manic laughter. Ranma stared after her for a moment before taking her own leave, sparing a contemptuous glance at the cowering girls as she departed.

They were also problems that would follow her home.

First, there was Akane Tendo who didn't quite seem to appreciate that she had shared her bed with a Jusenkyo cursed _asshole_. Ranma smiled at the thought even as the youngest Tendo melted down right before her very eyes whilethe family watched from the living room; peering around the corner like so many mice.

"And you just let him watch!" The youngest Tendo fumed with rising anger, and she all but stabbed the martial artist with an accusing finger. "He saw me without my bra, Ranma!"

"Then I guess me and Ryoga really do have something in common," Ranma cocked her head as if to contemplate the idea, adding fuel to Akane's boiling temper.

"You could have stopped him, you Pervert!"

"Ya miss yesterday's episode, tomboy?" Ranma rolled her eyes, clearly not taking the situation as seriously as the girl involuntarily named her fiancée. "I kicked his ass twice and was on my way to kicking it a third time when you screwed it up. _Again_."

"How was I supposed to know he was a _pig_?!" Akane screeched as she revisited last night; specifically the memories of chatting to a little black piglet as she undressed in before its very eyes. "You could have told me!"

"And you've just been a real trustin' soul these past few weeks, ain't ya Tendo?" Ranma's eyes narrowed on the girl who had begun to ball her fist. "I could have told ya the sky was blue and you'd still find something to bitch about."

"It was a bit over the top, but she's got a point, sis," Nabiki commented from the sidelines and Akane threw a angry glare in her direction.

"Who's side are you on anyway?! She balked, now seething over the wounds to her pride. Kasumi chose that moment to intervene by stepping fully into the living room. Her polite smile managed to dampen her sister's fury slightly.

"Some of your friends are here to see you, Akane."

"What the hell has gotten into you boy?!" Genma descended upon the redhead with the distraction, managing a headlock before Ranma could even react. He throttled the girl mercilessly while interrogating her as she struggled. "Complaining about this! Arguing about that! And what did you do to your-!"

"IT AIN'T YOUR DAMN CONCERN!" Ranma hollered and lowered her center of gravity. Her right foot slid two centimeters out and she chose her pivot point, dropping just enough to haul her father off her right shoulder and onto the floor with a hard thud. Genma rolled out and regained his footing, scowling at his neo-daughter.

"We'll discuss this outside, boy," The Saotome patriarch demanded and strode past the red with purpose even as Kasumi was letting Akane's guests in.

"Thank you for having us over-Ack! It's her!" One of the three girls following Kasumi and Akane pointed. Upon designating the long haired redhead walking past with a trembling finger, the other two likewise shuffled away.

"The traitor from the park!" Another gasped while the remaining girl covered her mouth in scandal.

"The what...?" Akane blinked even as Ranma stopped to eye the cowering girls.

Ranma scrutinize the trio hiding behind the fiancée with a puzzled expression. "You girls wouldn't happen to be...?"

"She just abandoned us!" One wailed pitifully, solidifying their identity in the martial artists mind. Unfortunately, that thought process had contempt written all over it.

"Oh hey, it's the klutzy trio again." Ranma waved cutely at the bruised girls, then eyed Akane expectantly. "Friends of yours, Tendo?"

"What was that?!" Akane's temper simmered once more with the obvious insinuation, prompting the martial artist to shrug innocently.

"Just figuring you had so much in common is all," The girl sniped, prompting a twitch to form at the girl's cheek.

"Evil witch!" Akane's schoolmate rebuked and Ranma shrugged.

"Whatever," She continued out the door opposite of the group. "I'm on my way to kick the fat old Panda's ass. Don't wait up."

"We won't!" Akane shouted at the redhead's back as the girls looked on.

"What is with her, Akane-chan?" One asked, shaking her head.

"And you're actually letting her stay?" The other boggled. Akane huffed with the last comment.

"It's not up to me." She temporized, leading the girls up the stairway to her room. "But forget about him for-"

"Her." One of the trio pointed out as they followed. Akane scrunched her forehead with the unpleasant reminder.

"Forget about _her_." The youngest Tendo continued, "How did you get all those bruises? Something about a fight?"

All three nodded at once and told Akane their story. Outside, a different story was being related as one redheaded girl and a middle aged, bald martial artist beat one another down with extreme prejudice.

"And I said you're going to cut it!" Genma growled as he ducked under his daughter's roundhouse kick to deliver several punishing body blows as it passed.

"And I'm tellin' ya it won't do any good!" She yelled back, pivoting on the momentum she had gained to profile away from the combination her father was hoping to setup. The redhead whirled around and batted his strike away, looking to likewise compromise her father's guard.

"You've been spending too much time as a girl!" The opening Ranma sought in her father's guard closed up, and Genma pounced with the feint. Ranma back peddled out of the trap, but took a fist to the abdomen for her troubles. She slid back and reassembled her guard while brushing the long strands of hair out of her eyes. Genma fixed a steely gaze on her. "You're going to change back. You're going to cut that hair. And most of all, you're going to apologize to Akane!"

"Like hell I will!" The long haired girl snarled and charged. She leapt into the air, dodging Genma's counter attack, twisted around and landed a solid flying kick to his face. "...on all accounts!"

Genma Saotome went skidding, but twisted to regain his balance through the slide before coming to a stop several meters later. He felt his busted lip and wiped the small trickle of blood away, considering the panting girl warily. She was tired but she was also giving as good as she got, which meant he was feeling it too. The Saotome patriarch switched tactics.

"What's gotten into you, boy?"

The sudden lack of physical violence in no way caused Ranma to drop her guard. "Ain't your business."

"We're guests of the Tendos and that makes it my business," Genma pushed back and was rewarded with an ever so slight look of indecision on his cursed son's face. "Soun and I went through a lot of trouble to get you and Akane-"

"Yeah, she told you how there was no chance in hell it was ever gonna happen, right?" Ranma preempted his father's sob story concerning the parent's mutual sacrifice. The girl jabbed a thumb over her shoulder to indicate the house at large. "Don't suppose she mentioned how she declared me and her nothin' but strangers after I saved her ass yesterday, did she?"

"That doesn't mean-"

"Didn't think so." The redhead shrugged, already knowing the answer. It was immediately confirmed by her father's attempt at verbal evasion. "Face it old man, it just ain't gonna work out."

"Well you're going to go back in there and try again!" Genma pointed back to the house with the demand. "And you're going to do it as a man, not a whiny little girl with long hair and cute bows!"

The fact that Ranma's hair was mostly an unstyled mane less cute bows, ribbons or adornments of any sort made little difference to Ranma who simply crossed her arms in challenge. "Well it ain't gonna happen."

While Genma Saotome wasn't sure which part of his ultimatum 'wasn't going to happen,' he'd be damned if he'd take that sort of lip from his own child. "By the time we're done here, you're going to beg me for some hot water, boy. Then you're going to plead for the chance to apologize to Akane."

"You and what army, Old man?" Ranma's arms dropped to her side loosely and she bounced on her feet eagerly. She glanced around, motioning to the entire Tendo courtyard. "In case ya didn't notice, there ain't no convenient stop signs ta help you scrape a win this time."

"I've got moves you've never seen before, boy." Genma warned direly and began and began to circle his neo-daughter for tactical positioning. "Last chance."

"So bring it already," The martial artist waved him over with all the arrogance in the world. Genma scowled, but nodded.

"Just remember, you asked for this," Genma took a low crouching stance and cocked his right arm back while fanning the left out before him. The dramatic display set Ranma on edge and she watched his every movement carefully. Genma took a deep breath, radiating menace. "Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Special Attack number thirty eight! Ich! Ni! SAN!"

Genma slid around, shifting his center of balance abruptly and pulled both hands back. He also began to glow _blue_. Ranma's eyes widened as the move telegraphed through her brain. _'No way!'_ She gaped, coming to an unlikely conclusion as he sighted her with wind up._ 'The old man's gotta chi technique up his sleeve?!'_

_**"HADOKEN!"**_

Ranma pulled back into a tight defensive stance, bracing behind a cross guard for the inevitable attack until her thoughts caught up to the word. She blinked, mouthing the word. _'Hadoken?' _The redhead peeked out beyond her arms just in time to watch her father casually toss a kettle of hot water at her. Her eyes only had time to widen before the kettle smacked into her, upending its steaming contents upon the martial artist to reverse the curse.

"ACK!"

Genma Saotome watched as the girl twitched violently with the application of steaming hot water, then predictably melt back into the gender of his birth. The martial arts master smirked at his own success. Girl to boy? Check. Next, get rid of all that long... Genma quirked an eyebrow as his son began to struggle with the now black mane of hair. If he didn't know any better, it was getting... _longer?_

"Dammit, Pops!" Ranma clutched at the back of his head as if trying to contain the growth that was even now creeping out of his scalp. Ranma glanced back and forth in panic, looking for some way- _any_way -to stem the tide of growing hair before it reached critical mass while his father watched with ever growing incredulity. Fortunately enough, there was a mass of cold water nearby and the panicking Saotome dove for it.

Literally.

The last time Ranma found himself in the Tendo koi pond it was courtesy of his very father relating the story of Jusenkyo to the family. This time he partook of it eagerly, displacing water and fish in order to stay the blessing accidentally bestowed upon him two years ago. _'Curse is more like it,'_ The now redhead martial artist grumbled as she picked herself out of the sloshing pond, spitting out fish water. _'Definitely a curse.'_

"Now see what ya did?" The sopping mess of a girl stepped back onto dry land, staring a dejected hole into her father as her father watched with wide eyes. Genma still wasn't sure _what _he did, but he could see the results with absolute clarity. Five minutes ago, that girl body worn by his son had red hair reaching down to just about the middle of her back. Now the wet tangles of scarlet were hanging just past the small of her back, down around her buttox. The Saotome child grasped a thick strand hanging over her left shoulder and wrung it out with a put out expression on her face. "Wonderful. Simply goddamn wonderful."

"Ah, son?" Genma stepped forward carefully, staring at the hair as if it were a living organism of sorts. He crept up to his cursed progeny who was busy wringing pond water from the lengthy strands of red hair. "What just happened?"

"Ya couldn't leave well enough alone, that's what just happened." Ranma responded edgily. She knew there was no way she was getting out of it without an explanation when her father just continued to stare, reaching out as if he wanted to poke her hair experimentally. She sighed and sat down on the nearest rock to wring out the tangles of hair while offering an explanation. "Fine. happened a ways back in China. Kicked some thief's ass while huntin' down food and ended up taking his food instead."

The look on Genma's face clearly indicated that he didn't have a clue as to how Ranma went from a beat down to the tangles draped around her but she continued regardless. "Turns out he had stolen the food from some outback Chinese restaurant. The porridge I ate was their special technique."

"That... grows... hair?" Her father boggled at the concept, reflexively rubbing the his own bald head in wonder. "But... such a blessing..."

"...Sucks if ya don't got the Dragon Whisker to seal it up." Ranma curtailed her father's amazement with hard reality. Another length of hair dribbled with water as she wrung it out. "If you don't have one to bind your hair, it'll keep growin' and growin' and growin'."

"Well that's not so bad." Genma shrugged, failing to see the down side. Ranma cast a dry look at him.

"Seconds, Pop." The put out redhead motioned to the crimson tresses surrounding her. "I got hair down to my ass in _seconds_. When I first got the curse, I nearly filled up half the guy's restaurant back in China inside a minute."

"That's... it's... Hmmmm..." The senior martial artist cocked his head and thought as conflicting emotions warred within. On one hand, this technique was an absolute Godsend to people such as himself. On the other it was a severe liability if it couldn't be controlled. Still, if he could only make it work... He returned his attention to the girl that was his son, who in turn was watching him doubtfully. "And this dragon whisker... controls the growth?"

Ranma rolled her eyes, easily seeing where the conversation was going. "You can thank that asshole Ryoga for destroying mine. Akane wasn't much of a help either."

"Surely this Chinese restaurant has another in stock?" The Saotome patriarch continued to press for a positive outcome.

Ranma fixed him with a decidedly unamused look. "And when was the last time you seen a dragon ta pluck whiskers from walking around? It was all I could do to get the last one the guy had in stock. Got the impression he was gettin' out of the hair business."

"But that technique... He could be richer than the Emperor himself with that dish!" Genma boggled, unable to comprehend why anyone would abandon such an art.

"Funny ya should mention that," Ranma nodded as she tried to arrange her now merely damp hair into something she wouldn't trip over. She flipped the mass behind her back where it hung all the way to her backside. The martial artist eyed its presence with disdain, then returned to the topic at hand. "He was going on about bloody wars being fought over the Dragon Whisker or something. Can't see why, personally."

Genma, however could. Bald men everywhere... Daimyo... Emperors... Aging martial artist... all fighting a pitched and bloody war where no quarter was given just so their bald heads would yet again see another strand of hair. Genma shivered at the battlefield of carnage and violence playing out in his mind's eye.

"Such a seductive horror," Genma murmured to himself as he stared at his son tresses longingly. Ranma heard it and nodded.

"Not sure about the seductive part, but horror is dead on."

"And only as a man?" Her father confirmed, prompting Ranma to nod again as they both headed to the house. It was a fiendish dilemma to be certain Genma realized as he worked the angles. Certain contingencies required the boy to be a man amongst men, but his son couldn't even risk spending a minute in his birth form with this new 'blessing'. Likewise, if anything was to happen on the marriage front, it would almost certainly have to happen with his son as an actual son.

Truly the proverbial rock and a hard place.

"I have some contacts here in Japan." Genma advised the neo-girl as they stepped back into the house. Rnama suddenly looked hopeful. "We'll ask around and see if we can't source this whisker..." _For both of our sakes_, Genma indulged in another covetous glance at the long red hair. He would get a whisker, resurrect his own hair and cure his son...

...More than likely in that order whether he realized his moral priorities or not. Still, there was one last thing to address even if the hair and gender were an impasse, and he stopped the girl with a firm hand on her shoulder. Ranma looked at it and then up to him. Genma could all but see his offspring running through the tactical options of the contact like it was second nature.

'I'll look for your dragon whisker, but you have to promise me one thing." He advised solemnly, piquing the martial artist's attention. "You have to at least try with Akane."

Ranma favored her father with an edgy look. "And who's gonna give her the message she's gotta start tryin herself?"

The heavy amount of scorn in his child's voice took Genma back and he was just assembling a suitable comeback when a new female voice interrupted his thoughts.

"It's... It's even longer than before!"

Ranma scrunched her eyes closed with the almost certainly impending migraine that was about to descend upon her. Kasumi now gaped outright; an unusual sight in and of itself and she was clearly gaping at Ranma Saotome. Nabiki casually looked up from her magazine on the living room sofa and stared, then scrubbed her eyes to make sure the anomaly wasn't simply a hallucination. Given her extracurricular activities at school and bearing the label 'Ice Queen,' the middle Tendo considered herself a professional and was rarely prone to swearing. She had an image to uphold, after all.

Today she made an exception.

"What the hell, Saotome?" Nabiki cocked her head, almost disbelieving what she was seeing to the point where she had set aside her fashion magazine in order to concentrate fully on the impossible to miss sight. Twenty four hours ago, it was a pigtail. Twelve hours ago it had grown to the middle of her back. Now it was down to her backside. She also knew several girls that would be jealous at the sight, up to and including her sister who likewise stared openly at the martial artist. The middle Tendo was also jealous but not for the same reason. "If that's a martial arts trick, there's a killing to be made off of it."

"Willin' to take the gender curse that goes with it?" Ranma retorted dryly, effectively extinguishing the monetary gleam in Nabiki Tendo's eyes and replacing it with one of uncertainty... And some fear mixed in unless she missed her guess.

_'Thought so,'_ Ranma confirmed mentally and kept her course for the bathroom.

* * *

**Author's Notes -**Some of my best inspiration comes from sponging off other people's simple commentary. In this case you can blame Anthony for yet another fic. His comment started off with the simple words, 'Did you ever hear of that Bet...?" I generally don't do bets, but this one mauled me and I had a completed snippet within five minutes of his question. No, I didn't remember that bet, but it sure sounded fun. So why not?

**Butterflies;** _Apparently there was a Bet way back whenever to make the biggest change to canon by altering the smallest event possible. The example related to me by Anthony was something about Ranma sleeping on a rock wrong while camping and deciding to say to hell with canon as a result. If that was anywhere close to the actual plot, it makes me want to gouge my eyeballs out just on principle. My response? To make something that will gouge your eyeballs out instead of mine... And hopefully entertain you somewhere along the way._

**Perception;** _Probably the biggest element in this fic is not canon fact, but how events are perceived by the characters and what they know at the time, not what they will know or could know. Here, the key word is 'hair' and all Ranma knows is he's still cursed with no cure in sight. He doesn't have pork bun assassins to push the plot along toward a conclusion. he doesn't have an old ghoul to provide helpful insight. There's no way for him to know it will just run its course as book 15 shows. He's trapped between a rock and a hard place and he's none too happy about it._

**Hair vs Gender;** _Is having a hair curse enough to force Ranma into his female form for an extended length of time? IMO, yes, especially when said curse will grow nonstop without the dragon whisker to keep it in check. Canon had him rapidly filling a gym storage shed within minutes if not less, and seemed to even express some measure of relief when splashed by Cologne to stop it. Likewise, Ranma seemed to consider this particular curse as something of an abomination at every stage of the arc. I feel canon demonstrates clearly which curse Ranma considers the lesser of evils. _

**Hair Today;** _I've read the chapter a few times and there appears to be some ambiguity as to how the hair curse finally depleted itself: Potency or Time. In the hair arc's final frames, it is suggested that Ranma simply ran out of hair, indicating that a dragon whisker has a finite 'charge' to it. Cologne also mentions that the Dragon Whiskers have a 4,000 year shelf life while serving the expired whisker soup to the pork bun guys. So which mechanic is at work here? Did Ranma's hair run out of charge or did it literally hit its expiration date that very day and stop growing?_

_If the former, Ranma will not realize that the curse is depleted until he uses up enough hair as he did in the hair arc. If the latter, Ranma's troubles will automatically disappear at around six months into canon. Since the arc suggests the 'charge' mechanic is the predominant catalyst at work, it will be the one I am using. Also implicit in this version is that Ranma does not know how the curse works. He does not know he can run out of hair. He does not know it will stop growing once it runs out of 'charge'. To point, if he had any clue as to this information, he would have displayed the knowledge in the canon hair arc. At every step he was completely ignorant of how the hair curse worked beyond the fact it would grow uncontrollably without the Dragon Whisker._

**Timeframes;** _One often overlooked element in Ranma's history is his experience in China. Sure, we all know the highlights, but there are subtleties that often get missed. One major point comes with book 15 when Ranma relates his Chinese hair chronicles to Akane. To point, the flashback opens "China. Several years ago." To realize just how powerful these words are to Ranma's canon, you have to review the scene. First and foremost, Ranma has the gender curse. Second, Ranma has been in Nerima six months to a year by book 15's events (vague estimate). Conclusion; Ranma had been in China 'several years' before the start of book 1. Not simply that, he had been there for 'several years' after receiving the hair curse and likewise having the jusenkyo curse the entire time. With 'several' being more than 'a couple', Ranma has had both curses for a minimum of two years before coming to Nerima. If we assume Ranma is the same age as Akane at the start of book 1 (15 years old), Ranma could very well have been 13 years or younger when he received the Juenskyo curse, depending on one's interpretation of this prose. Collaborating evidence of this is the packet of Girl Away Ranma used in the very first happosai arc. It is stated that he obtained this while in China. When? How? WHY? Ranma's experience resume is clearly broader than what canon details._

_All of that said, there is the possibility that Ranma is embellishing his own tale in relating it to Akane. More probable is that RT is playing fast and loose with her timelines, though that is a slippery plot slope that reaches throughout the entire series since time is a very malleable thing in Ranma ½. To point, Materia Blade reminds me that the anime says the trip lasted only one month... Pretty optimistic for a foot trek across the back forty of China. Yes, you can interpret this any number of ways, but I'm simply taking advantage of the prose given to me :)_

**Special Thanx:**** Materia Blade** (who's off in Japan as we speak), **Delta Theta**,** DCG, Dragon Dagger** (get well soon!), **Holyknight** and **Slade!** Anybody I missed, I still love you :)_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Bad Cut**  
Chapter **TWO**

**W**hen the name Akane Tendo entered into Ranma's mind, the description that was called forth with it was hardly one of grace and agility. The last month had indelibly etched a different definition into the redhead's thoughts concerning the youngest Tendo, thoughts that contained such descriptive as 'clumsy,' 'loud,' 'tomboyish' and 'braggart' amongst others. The girl leapt to conclusions entirely too easily and had a streak of mistrust a kilometer wide that, when paired with her own curse, seemed to bring out the worst in the girl named her fiancée.

The latter part Ranma understood to degree since just having the curse for herself was by no means easy. Not that she would ever admit it to another living soul, but there were times when she could swear that the curse was playing tricks on her; making her see and do things slightly differently for no apparent reason what so ever other than its own twisted amusement. The martial artist would catch these errant patterns and force them back into alignment... Most of the time. Sometimes it was something innocent like stopping to admire a scenic backdrop or picturesque view _he _would have otherwise passed by. Other times it was in her face, like a full blown attack of the sweets.

Whatever the deviation, there was always something about it innocent or otherwise that unnerved that detached portion of her intelligence, and if it unnerved her, it undoubtedly unnerved others just to see a boy turn into a girl with a splash of water. People gave her the oddest looks and a handful had even lit the torches and distributed pitchforks looking to slay the witch. Akane Tendo was apparently going to side with the latter of those she encountered, but she'd be damned if she would take Tendo's scorn lying down. Her supposed 'fiancée' had laid down the ground rules at their first meeting and if there was one thing Anything Goes had lots of, it was verbal sparring.

Regardless, Akane Tendo was somehow defying most of the labels Ranma had placed on the black haired girl as she stepped gracefully across the dojo with reasonably quick and precise movements that were the antithesis of what Ranma had come to know. It was also a marked sight better than how she had began her foray into the world of Rhythmic Gymnastics Wrestling.

_'Makes me wince just thinking about it,' _Ranma acknowledged as she watched Akane from the doorway of the dojo, twisting and pirouetting to the encouragement of her coach. The coach was Yuki, if she remembered the name correctly, one of the girls from the lot beat down a week back. Since then she had performed a minor miracle, taking Akane from walking gymnastics disaster to somebody who could balance and twirl a ribbon at the same time without wrapping herself up like a mummy in the process. Ranma snickered at the thought.

That had actually happened.

The redhead watched as the girl twirled her ribbon on command and let it flow gracefully around her. She spun around ninety degrees, gave it a soft snap and pulled it back... And promptly tangled herself up in its coils. Akane squawked as she overbalanced and nearly fell to the mat, prompting Ranma to simply roll her eyes. _'So much for grace and agility.'_

"Can I _please_use the dojo now?" She drawled in a bored tone.

Akane cast a dire look toward the redhead who merely yawned. Yuki sent a withering glance in Ranma's direction while attempting to extricate her friend from the ribbon's confinement. She turned a charitable smile on her partner. "Look on the bright side..."

"There's a bright side?"

Ranma dodged a throwing pin kicked in her direction by Akane. It skittered harmlessly out the door as her coach continued. "You only caught yourself up once this practice session!"

It was almost killing the Saotome to remain silent through that but she figured there was a small chance they would hurry the hell up if she wasn't antagonizing them at every step, much as they were all but begging her to do so. She remained silent and let the two work through Akane's disappointment, where upon they were finally ready to leave. Akane sniffed their disdain in passing the redhead, tossing a long tress of hair over her shoulder contemptuously. Ranma in turn tapped her foot impatiently as they passed. Finally they were gone. Ranma was alone.

"Bout damn time," she groused and all but hopped to the center of the dojo mat, putting experimental pressure on the tatami beneath her before releasing her pent up frustration with a deep breath. _In. Out_. Ranma closed her eyes, then exploded into motion seconds later. The kata she stepped through had been known since she was six and she paced herself evenly through the blurring punches and kicks, sliding across the mat in evasion against an invisible flow. It helped her relax. And concentrate on things...

...Things like what to do about the ceasefire 'encouraged' by their respective parents. It wouldn't last, of course, no matter how old man Tendo insisted that they just needed time to get to know each other or how the fat Panda insisted he just shut up and take it. _'Pervert, this. Pervert that,'_the redhead huffed in irritation. After the proverbial side by side 'kiss and make up' meeting it was more akin to a cold war than a cease fire, though apparently even that was an improvement in their parent's eyes.

_'Sure it is,'_ Ranma harrumphed as she sprung up, twisted around mid air and took the head off her imaginary opponent. Much as she loathed the fact, she was here to stay for the next few months or as long as it took her father to find a dragon whisker through his contacts._ 'At least it's not so ungodly long,'_she thought gratefully. The now neck length ponytail in place of the long unruly mane whipped through the air with her movements, reminding her of the days before the hair curse and before Jusenkyo; when it was simply tied off at the base.

_'The good ol' days,'_ she revised mentally through a tuck and roll maneuver, dodging down to defeat an imaginary attack. Another wry thought chuckled morbid amusement._ 'If you can count ten years on the road livin' hand to mouth with a father as likely to curse me as he would sell me the good ol days.'_

A loud crash interrupted any further musings she had on the matter and Ranma fell out of the practice, gracefully sliding to a stop even as the cacophony of fragile items being smashed met her ear from beyond the dojo walls. She stepped lightly over to the door and watched as a lithe figure wielding an oversized mallet back flipped gracefully out Akane's second story window, followed shortly by the Tendo herself as she pursued the obviously female form. Ranma watched with interest as the girl silhouetted only by moonlight- and wearing a leotard if she wasn't mistaken -squared off against Akane in the middle of the property courtyard.

_'Might just get interestin',' _The redhead decided and leaned against the outside wall to watch. Akane charged, employing heavy handed chops and kicks while the other girl hopped nimbly out of range in spite of the hammer's mass, occasionally taking a swipe for herself. Ranma's tactical assessment of the newcomer continued while Akane netted little but air, then managed to kick the hammer out of her attacker's grasp. It spun through a ballistic arc and imbedded itself into the grassy dirt less than a meter from Ranma's feet with a solid 'thunk'.

Akane re-engaged even as Ranma wondered if the kick had been accidental or on purpose, while the girl continued to melt just out of the range of her combinations. After another minute, she flipped back completely out of hand to hand range, favoring Akane with a malicious smile. The face was hard to miss this time as the house lighting decisively illuminated it for the first time.

_'It's that Black Petunia girl...?'_

"So the rumors are true. You are good, aren't you?" She stated haughtily, sizing up her opponent from range. Akane remained in a tense guarding stance and Kodachi merely laughed. "Very well then!"

With that Ranma watched as she flipped back again towards her and landed precisely by the mallet, gathering it back in hand. The redhead's presence hadn't gone unnoticed and the leotard clad gymnast glanced casually back as if to question whether the redhead would be interfering or not. Ranma produced her own nonchalant shrug and the black haired girl smiled. Akane Tendo, however, did not.

"YOU'RE JUST GONNA STAND THERE?!" She all but screeched and Ranma sent a dull look back at her.

"Thought you wanted somebody ta 'fight you for real' Tendo?" Ranma motioned to the other girl as her case in point. "Well here she is."

The youngest Tendo gritted her teeth but had little time to take Ranma to task as Kodachi returned her attention to their standoff, pulling out a black gymnastics ribbon. The long haired girl gave it a reflexive snap and twirled it around menacingly, releasing a blizzard of black rose petals at the girl. "I shall return!"

She jumped up and landed on the property wall, leaping into the night with insane laughter with Ranma and Akane staring after her. The redhead fingered one of the many black rose petals landing about and on her, arching an eyebrow with their study. "Girl sure knows how to make an exit."

"She can't just leave!" Akane squeaked indignantly at the rose petals surrounding her. "Who's going to clean this up? And my room!"

Ranma pushed herself off the dojo wall and passed the youngest sister, emoting ambivalence. "Your rival this time. Not mine."

With that, she left the simmering Tendo to her own device and returned to the house.

* * *

**A **mistake.

That was the excuse she was forced to lean back on as Ranma Saotome returned to Furikan High School as a curvy redheaded female instead of a male. Of course that left scores of other unanswered questions for the teachers and classmates that had been exposed to her male aspect. Who was that? Why was he here? Was that your brother? Is he still engaged to Akane? What happened to your hair? Are you single? What's your sizes? Is that bandanna'd boy your lover?

The number of people Ranma had to restrain herself from murdering outright was simply amazing.

All in all, it created one gigantic headache for the gender cursed martial artist who endured her first day back amongst the flurry of questions and speculation. Fortunately the class bell signaling the end of the day sounded through the halls, allowing her some measure of reprieve as she walked wearily off the property while a number of girls tried to happily engage her in conversation and gossip. She couldn't exactly tell them off, so she weathered the storm the best she could with half hearted nods and one worded responses that feigned interest in whatever they were talking about. About the only saving grace in being the object of attention was that it gave the redhead an excuse to ignore Akane Tendo outright and even provided a physical barrier as to her on again off again scorn. Still, all the girl talk was absolutely killing her.

Fortunately, the unexpected arrival of a Bentley black stretch limo pulling up alongside their sidewalk changed that.

The eyes of over a dozen students tracked the limousine as it rolled to a stop next to Ranma and her trio of chattering girls, silencing them instantly as staring took the place of conversation. The door opened after a moment and a familiar face leaned out with a pleasant smile.

"Saotome-san, what a pleasant surprise." The visage of Kodachi Kuno was unmistakable, prompting Ranma to blink. Apparently the girl was just as loaded as Tatewake and she began to wonder at their relationship, which would have been just the right age for brother and sister.

"What's up, Ko-chan?" Ranma waved, taking up a subtle verbal offensive with the familiar form of address to counter the girl's overt display of wealth. The black haired school girl blinked with her new title as if considering its implications for herself before the smile returned.

"If it would be agreeable, I would like to discuss the upcoming match with you," Kodachi offered, inviting her inside the automobile with a gesture. Ranma glanced back and forth from the trio of girls around her and the promise of more gossip to the limo and Kodachi herself. In the end it was an easy decision to make.

"Catch ya later," She waved to her companions and stepped into the limo. Three girls were left gawking at the Bentley as it started to drive off while Ranma settled into a sunken leather miniature couch beside Kodachi.

"I do so appreciate your acquiescence," Kodachi began as she poured them both tea from a smallish table set before them from a silver pitcher into fine china porcelain that screamed money from every angle to the redhead. "I'm sure you are curious why I asked you to accompany me."

Ranma merely shrugged, looking about the well appointed interior of the vehicle she was sitting in. Leather. Wood. State of the art electronics. She returned her attention to the black haired girl. "Well, ya mentioned the match and Tendo is your opponent. Don't take much to put two and two together."

"Quite," Kodachi inclined her head in response, offering her the cup she had just poured. "And yet you are still agreeable to meet with me. I find this quite fascinating... And opportune."

"Okay...?" Ranma let the word hang, hoping to receive a response that would get to the point.

"Simply put, I wish to know more concerning my opponent." She continued as Ranma took her own cup of tea. The martial artist eyed the steaming liquid warily and set it aside while Kodachi explained. "You, of course, appear to be in a position to have this information. If you would indulge my questions, I would ensure your time is well compensated monetarily."

Ranma merely leaned back into the couch with a smile. "Nah, don't need no compensation. Might even be fun to watch."

Kodachi blinked at the flat refusal of compensation, staring at the redhead. After a moment taken to reassemble her thoughts, she nodded. "Very well. If you may, elaborate on Tendo-san's abilities; specifically those concerning rhythmic gymnastics?"

"Oh man, is that all?" Ranma rolled her eyes, answering in a near chuckle that confused the girl next to her. "This is going to be a pretty short trip if that's what you're looking for."

The perplexed look continued from Kodachi. "Meaning...?"

"She's all hand to hand. This Rhythmic Gymnastics thing is all about tools, right?" Ranma pressed, prompting Kodachi to nod slowly. "The moment you put something in her hand, she'll screw it up herself."

The St. Bacchus school girl tilted her head, trying to reconcile the fierce girl she had challenged over the weekend with the one from the redhead's description. "But she seemed so... so skilled."

"Only cuz you came at her with one-ton hammer," Ranma elaborated, shaking her head in amusement. "If this were pure martial arts she could probably hold her own, but it ain't. Besides, you've easily got her beat in the agility department from everything I've seen."

Again, Kodachi couldn't help but to blink with the unexpected compliment. "I... Thank you. Is there anything else I should know about Tendo-san?"

Ranma cocked her head, thinking on the matter. Akane's most defining characteristic instantly came to mind. "She's got a temper. A bad one. If you get in a pinch or just get bored, yank her chain. Do it enough and she'll probably end up fouling herself out."

Kodachi stared. After a moment, she couldn't help but to smile at the remarkably underhanded and devious tactic that the redhead had causally chosen to impart for her benefit and without need for compensation. A wistful expression involuntarily overtook the Kuno's features as she watched Ranma reach for the now cooler cup of tea sitting next to her. It was impossible to hope for since she hadn't had one for so very long, but here and now with the grinning redhead... She stared in silent contemplation for another moment, but frowned as the martial artist brought the tea to her lips.

That simply wouldn't do _at all_.

"I apologize," The school girl leaned forward and plucked the tea cup from ranma's fingers gently, setting it aside to Ranma's confusion. "I can't allow my guest to have _cold _tea, now can I?"

"Guess not?" Ranma shrugged, somewhat perplexed but uncaring for the most part.

"Of course not." Kodachi returned certainly, but eyed the girl regardless. "Still, I cannot allow you to endure my questions without recompense."

Ranma shook her head, smiling wryly. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'll get my 'recompense' the day of the match."

"Nonsense." The girl dismissed the notion outright. "If you will not choose a form of repayment, I shall."

Ranma crossed her arms, smirk on her face with the challenge. "Do your worst, then."

"Your hair." Kodachi gestured, prompting the redhead to stillness over the topic.

"My hair?"

"Indeed. it has been annoying me since your entrance herein," Kodachi eyed the red crop and ponytail with some measure of disdain. "Please do yourself a favor and fire the barbarian who took a hatchet to those vibrant crimson strands. In fact, it is an oversight I will take upon myself to correct for you."

"What?" Ranma was now flabbergasted. "You will?"

The black haired girl leaned off to the left and keyed a small button on the armrest closest to her. "Change of plans. Yukihama's please."

"Yes Mistress Kuno." The intercom replied as Kodachi returned her attention to Ranma.

"Unless you have something more pressing scheduled?" The schoolgirl pressed, forcing Ranma to reconsider her position.

_'Hair cut or Tendo, tough choice.' _Ranma thought dryly. It didn't help that Kodachi was also correct since she had been forced to cut it herself or avail herself to Kasumi's Tender mercies. She shivered at the thought of the overly eager sister and her obsession with her hair. The only option after that was self inflicted injury. The remembrance solidified her course of action.

"I'm thinkin' I can free up a slot."

"Then I will take the opportunity to indulge as well," Kodachi nodded with a friendly smile. "Together, as it were."

"Don't see why not." Ranma shrugged, unaware of the hopeful depths in Kodachi's words. The other thing she wasn't aware of was Kodachi's definition of haircut apparently included a full styling, makeover and spa treatment; nor could she bring herself to care as a masseuse' elbow pressed into her left shoulder as she lay all but naked on a table

"Oh God, right there..." Ranma groaned as the elbow dug into the muscle group, eliciting a sigh of relief as she lolled face down on the table. Sure she was bare save only the towel draped across her waist and yeah, Kodachi was similarly clad less than two meters away, but any concern she probably should have felt toward the fact had been washed away by the previous thirty minutes of pampering.

Granted getting to that point had been a rocky road, but Kodachi seemed to weather her obstinacy with that annoyingly affluent 'I know what's best for you' attitude of hers that Ranma couldn't back down from. From there it was a slippery slope of acceptance; from the cut and styling to the pedicure and massage. She angled her head up slightly to catch sight of her partner, who seemed to be serenely enjoying her massage without the same theatrics. The redhead studiously avoided roaming the naked flesh of her upper torso that- even though it remained face down -had several delightful curves when viewed from the side.

"So he's in Hawaii now?" She resumed the conversation that had continued piecemeal since starting the massage. The girl laying beside her produced the barest of nods, opening her eyes a mere crack to respond.

"Rehabilitation," Kodachi answered sluggishly, clearly enjoying the massage as much as Ranma. "They figured a less stressful environment and sun would do him good."

"Here's hoping," Ranma agreed, taking a moment to indulge in another firm press on her spine before continuing with the topic that they strangely both had in common. "Wish they had sent mine off for rehabilitation."

"I am quite surprised he has not been picked up by the authorities," The school girl returned leisurely even as another portion of her intellect marveled at just how much in common they shared. Mentally unstable father figures. Absent mothers. A socially deficient upbringing if she was being honest with herself...

"Oh, they've gotten him once or twice. Locals, mostly," The redhead commented in a lazy drawl. "Lazy bastard or not, he's still a damn good martial artist. Could never hold him for long."

"And thus continued to plague you as much as mine," The black haired girl nodded slightly, then closed her eyes, inhaling sharply. "Yes. That's good. Down a bit."

Her masseuse complied and Kodachi was jelly in her hands as Ranma watched, having noted the similarities in their lives for herself. Kodachi's mother had simply left with little notice and for even less reason, leaving their old man a basket case. _'Would explain ol' Tatewaki, I guess,' _ Ranma theorized silently as she reconciled Kodachi's own upbringing. And like Kodachi, her mother had been conspicuously absent throughout her childhood for reasons unknown. Ranma sighed internally._ 'And the old man still won't give me a straight answer. Did she just up and leave like Kodachi's mom?'_

It was an emotional quagmire with no clear answer, so instead of dwelling on the weighty topic further she followed Kodachi's example and let the hands on her back do their thing. Her worries over the dragon whisker, the curse, her amoral father and absentee mother all drifted away...

...for a little while, at least.

* * *

**T**he day of the match. The Rhythmic Gymnastics match. Akane's match.

_Ho hum._

Ranma Saotome heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts could barely contain her boredom as Akane rushed to a fro, getting her gym bag and tools ready for the big day. For the redhead watching her, it was hardly big in any such way. In fact, it was a foregone conclusion that was almost painful to contemplate.

In went the ribbons. The collapsible hoops. The juggling pins.

While it was true the girl had gotten better in the last week before the big day, she still wasn't nearly as graceful and agile as her opponent. Given a few weeks of intensive instruction with somebody better than the entire Furinkan Gymnastics team combined- herself for example -Akane might have stood a chance. If it were simply hand to hand, all Akane would have to do is corner the other girl and wallop her with that gorilla strength of hers. Sadly there were tools involved in this particular match and Ranma was certain they would be her downfall.

_'No physical touching, no hand to hand blows,'_ Ranma recited the rules Kodachi had related to her during their spa treatment a week ago. All of the attacks would be indirect, denying the Tendo of her greatest advantage: Physical strength. It prompted a small smile from Ranma as she watched the girl from the sofa busy herself in preparation. _'Nice knowin' ya, Tendo.'_

"Are you going?"

Ranma's attention was diverted from her thoughts to the next eldest Tendo just walking into the living room wearing a casual striped tank top and high cut shorts. She plopped down on the closest chair with her favorite fashion magazine, thumbing through the pages idly while waiting for a response. Ranma was happy to give her one.

"As if." The martial artist shook her head, her attention returning to some show she had been in the process of channel surfing through. "Got better things to do."

"Not going to support your fiancée, hmmm?" Nabiki Tendo prodded, earning an amused snort from Ranma.

"You mean the violent maniac over there?" Ranma used Kasumi's own descriptive of the sister in question. "I'm sure ol' gorilla hands will be fine without my support."

"'Ol Gorilla hands' is my sister, Saotome," Nabiki replied to the insult with an ever so slight edge of frost that did nothing to intimidate the Saotome.

"And when she can stop callin' me a pervert I'll cut her some slack," Ranma shrugged then turned to ignore her in favor of the TV.

_'So much for the guilt angle,' _The middle Tendo conceded as any moral high ground she could bring to bear evaporated thanks to her sister's own behavior. Instead, she went for subtlety. "So about this match..."

"Hmm?" Ranma responded absently as she flipped through the channels.

"I think my sister has a pretty good shot at this, don't you?" Nabiki broached conversationally and eagerly awaited the answer from what she considered an authority on such matters. Ranma glanced back at her as if to contemplate the question herself and after a moment, answered just like she had hoped.

"Oh yeah, it's in the bag." Ranma replied absently then tossed the remote back to couch as her interest in the TV waned. She hopped up and stretched, talking to nobody in particular. "Going out."

Nabiki watched the redhead depart from the living room and once out of sight let a shark's smile slip back onto her lips. _'Thanks for the payday, Saotome.'_

If the middle sister was congratulating her luck, Ranma was cursing hers as she had apparently chosen the very same time to leave as the youngest Tendo. The pair stared at one another in awkward silence for a moment before Akane's eyes narrowed on the martial artist suspiciously.

"You had better not be following me."

"Cuz you're the center of my universe, is that it?" Ranma retorted back with a healthy amount of sarcasm, prompting a sniff of contempt from Akane. She then took it upon herself to open the door, leading the way out into the clear afternoon daylight.

"And when are you going to change back into a guy anyway? It's getting creepy." Akane asked with some measure of annoyance. While being stuck in his female aspect annoyed Ranma as well, she wasn't about to admit it or even bother with explaining _why _she was still a girl.

"You ain't still jealous of all this are ya, Tendo?" Ranma asked rhetorically, gesturing to the shapely package that was 'all this' She was instantly reward as the girl spun around on her with the gym bag swinging.

"I AM NOT JEALOUS OF YOU, PERVERT!" She screamed, hoping to nail the dodging martial artist with bag. Several swings later Ranma had taken the lead through the Tendo courtyard and out the gates where both stopped short, staring at a familiar black Bentley parked on the curb.

...Familiar to Ranma, at least.

A chauffeur standing just outside the Bentley spied them and adjusted his sunglasses as if to further confirm the identity of the pair. "Saotome, Ranma?"

Ranma cocked a curious look at the overly official looking driver, but responded to her name regardless. "Yeah?"

"Mistress Kuno sends her regards," He bowed formally for her and opened the door. "She has requested I convey you to the match personally."

"WHAT?!" Akane blurted at what she saw as overt betrayal. She balled her fist, turning back on Ranma. "I thought you said you weren't going?!"

"I wasn't," Ranma shrugged but took to the door regardless. "But a limo's a limo." Ranma paused just outside the threshold, as if trying to remember something then reconsidered, looking back at the girl. "Wanna come along?"

"Of course not!" Akane bit back furiously. "Why would I take Kodachi's _limo_ to Kodachi's _school_ for a match _against Kodachi?!_"

Ranma shrugged as her ill-thought peace offering fell on the rocks. "Suit yourself."

With that, Ranma climbed fully into what looked to be a luxuriously appointed interior from Akane's angle. The chauffeur sealed the girl inside seconds later and returned to the driver's side without a word. The car itself pulled away only seconds later leaving the youngest Tendo alone and simmering.

* * *

Whip-_**SNAP!**_

**R**anma winced as another blow landed home on the girl involuntarily named his, now her, fiancée. Kodachi jumped out of range of the girl's reprisal easily enough, expertly evading the pin Akane Tendo was attempting to use as a cudgel. Even as St. Bacchus' star gymnast flipped through her escape arc, she still manage to guide the ribbon through the air as if it were a living entity, snapping the Furinkan stand-in painfully another three more times before landing on the other side of the ring.

"Another four hit combo by the Black Rose!" The female announcer yelled from ringside, her voice echoing throughout the stadium where it was met by raucous cheering. "Kodachi Kuno is simply dominating this match!"

"Tendo-san has managed to endure Kuno-san's offensive so far, but it really looks like she felt that one, Yoko!" Her partner commented as Akane circled her opponent warily, looking for an opening. "How much more can she possibly take?"

"Pins!" The girl in a pastel blue leotard called back to her corner and Akane's support contingent tossed her three more to replace the discarded one.

"Looks like Tendo-san is planning something..." The announcer continued as the crowd anticipated the promise of more action from the leotard clad gladiators. "AH! There she goes!"

Three pins flew through the air as Akane threw them directly at Kodachi, then charged in behind her, pulling her own ribbon out from behind her back. The light blue streamer unfurled like a whip even as her initial attack met resistance in the form of three sharp snaps. Kodachi's own black ribbon deflected each pin in succession and then pulled the black streamer around, meeting Akane's attack in kind. Both snapped midway between the pair as they clashed. This time it was a rapid machine gun staccato that met the ears of the audience as the pair furiously exchanged blows.

While the action was certainly entertaining enough from Ranma's special ringside seat, there continued to be a single overriding problem with the match itself that she had already summed up in three words: _Too damn predictable._

Their expressions alone were all too telling for the martial artist as they tried to ensnare one another with the ribbons. Akane wore a mask of fierce determination... And exertion. She was fighting just to maintain parity according to Ranma's expert eye, while Kodachi simply watched with arrogant amusement. She controlled the match and knew it, which made her victory inevitable regardless of how it played out.

_'The personal attendant was a nice touch though,'_She decided, glancing back to the politely smiling lady wearing a maid's outfit. "Got another one of those sandwiches?"

The maid, Hiroko, merely smiled and nodded, pulling the silver cover off the platter she had been holding to reveal the ever so delicately made sandwich , which in turn promptly disappeared into the Saotome's mouth wholesale as if hours of consideration hadn't gone into its visual impact and aesthetic appeal. By the time the redhead attention returned to the match, Kodachi had pressed Akane back to her own corner even though both combatants' ribbons were in tatters. Kodachi merely smiled, discarding her own.

"Resilient, perhaps, but it is time you learn from your betters," She advised arrogantly. Her corner took the cue and tossed her a pair of throwing pins. She caught both easily, never taking her eyes off the Tendo. "Now witness the secret technique of the Black Rose... _The Blow of a Thousand Hands!_"

The ribbon in Akane's hand wasn't nearly enough as a flurry of blurring clubs descended upon and she intercepted maybe half of the strikes directed at her person. The other half _hurt_. The Furikan gymnast tried to apply her martial arts to the match and roll with the blows, but even so Kodachi was bound to get several solid hits; and she did just that. Akane Tendo retreated , rolling out of the attack to pick up a pair of the spent clubs she had employed only minutes earlier in desperate defense.

"That's incredible!" One of the students exclaimed as Akane was pushed back across the ring even with the aid of her new weapon. "It's like she's using twenty clubs!"

_'That's because she _is_ using twenty clubs,'_Ranma observed from the edge of her seat now that special techniques were finally coming into play to make things more interesting. Twenty clubs or not, that didn't make the technique any less fascinating given the skill required to actually juggle twenty clubs fast enough to use as a melee attack. The martial artist watched with an expert eye, breaking the technique down piece by piece as Kodachi continued to press her opponent back to the Furinkan corner.

_'Won't be long now,'_She decided, instinctively knowing the match was winding down short of some last minute save by Akane. The youngest Tendo obviously lacked the necessary experience, or as a substitute, ingenuity and skill to rally against the St. Bacchus girl.

"Yield, Tendo-san!" Kodachi demanded as if to confirm Ranma's hypothesis. She paused in her offensive, pointing a single pin downrange at the long haired girl like a sword. Akane was panting heavily and favoring her left arm, leaning off to the side in obvious pain. If the Kuno felt any pity for her, it showed neither in her face or words. "Yield or suffer ultimate humiliation."

"Like... Like heck I will!" Akane managed between breaths, prompting the Black Rose to favor her with a bored look; one mirrored by Ranma who simply shook her head from ringside and out of the youngest Tendo's sight.

"Tendo-san has refused to give in!" The announcer yelled into her mic with the blow by blow narrative for the audience. "But can she take much more?"

"And what humiliation The Black Rose planning?!" her partner wondered aloud as the pair faced off.

"So be it." Kodachi declared arrogantly and stepped forward. "I shall brand you... With this!"

_Click!_

Akane braced for impact as Kodachi blurred forward, but the punishing blow she had expected was replaced by a light metallic sound instead, then a weight on her wrist. She blinked looking at Kodachi's cold smile then looked down at her wrist where a steel cuff now resided.

Attached to the cuff was a chain.

Attached to the chain was _a pig_.

_A little black piglet _to be exact.

Akane stared at the black piglet and the yellow bandanna it wore while the piglet stared back with wide eyes. A noticeable twitch accompanied Akane's left cheek even though the rest of her face remained expressionless. The pig, however, seemed to take that as a bad sign and began to squirm, seemingly desperate to escape its own entrapment.

"What a statement by the Black Rose," The female announcer shook her head with pity. "Equating her opponent to a helpless piglet!"

"And she doesn't look too happy about it!" Her counterpart concluded, adjusting her glasses to get a better view of the girl.

_"YOU." _The youngest Tendo growled, staring death into the terrified piglet. It redoubled its effort to break free while Ranma's interest in the match suddenly renewed.

"Oops." Ranma mumbled to herself, knowing the potential dire implications of Kodachi's actions even if she herself did not. "Bad move, Ko-chan..."

Sadly Kodachi was too far away to hear the redhead's missive and even if she had, there was no way she could have possibly know the significance of the forced pairing she had inflicted upon her opponent. Instead, she merely smiled, dangling a small skeleton key tied to a black ribbon before Akane's eyes. "I am feeling magnanimous, however. Admit defeat and I shall remove the blemish from your person."

Akane Tendo's fist balled in anger as she ground her teeth down. A fiery red aura sprang to life around the youngest Tendo sister and she began to swing the pig in a menacing arc. Kodachi blinked at the unexpected reaction, staring at her then glancing at Ranma. The martial artist warned her off with a subtle shake of the head. It was also her only warning before Akane's battle cry echoed through the stadium, launching herself at the St. Bacchus representative at high speed.

Armed with that split second's worth of warning, Kodachi jumped back as Akane cleaved the very air she stood with her improvised pig-born ball and chain weapon. A terrified 'squeeee!' accompanied its passing as she pressed her attack, spinning the piglet at high speed like a nunchaku. Kodachi sidestepped the attacks again and tried to counterattack. The forward thrust of her pin met solid resistance as Akane deflected it with the blurring black swine, eliciting several painful yelps with each successful deflection. Now it was Kodachi's turn to be pushed across the ring under the girl's renewed assault.

"She's a beast!" The female announcer roared as the action suddenly exploded in the ring once more. "Akane Tendo simply won't go quietly into the night!"

"And lord only knows the trauma that's being inflicted upon that poor piglet!" The other announcer could only stare at Akane's ferocity, then glanced off to matches' judging panel, wondering aloud. "Is the use of a piglet as a weapon even valid, let alone humane?!"

Three judges raised their green flags as one to make the call. "Valid!"

Kodachi flipped back to the corner adjacent to her own and Akane followed, splitting the very air with her improvised weapon just short of the mark each time, but lunged in as Kodachi landed on the post. The Black Rose jumped up and over Akane just in time and the post took the blow for Kodachi with a painful 'Oink!'. The Tendo whirled around before her combatant could resume her offensive. Kodachi was once more thrown on the defensive as the swine barrage continued in a blur, forcing her to change tactics. She took a precious moment to glance back to her corner to call out the order. "Hoop!"

The momentary distraction crucial and in the split second it took to return her attention to Akane, she found the girl airborne in a high leap that positioned her for a devastating overhead pig hammering. Time seemed to slow for that second as the stunned Kodachi wondered if she could withstand the unguarded blow from the mask of fury descending on her. The moment collapsed and the blow fell.

"Squeak!"

The entire stadium was silent. Both girls blinked, staring at one another first, then the piglet attached to Akane's wrist. It was out cold. Not only was it out cold, but it had failed to produce any sort of crippling attack. It had, in fact, simply bounced off Kodachi's head like a stuffed toy. Both girls eyes were inevitably drawn back to one another. Kodachi still had her pins in hand and favored the now insufficiently armed Tendo with a malicious smile. She began to twirl the clubs menacingly.

"I suggest you forfeit, Tendo-san."

* * *

**K**odachi Kuno stared. Her head was, in fact, on a proverbial swivel as she took in the sights around her; from the brightly colored wall decorations featuring comically animated characters, to the long glass counter and colorful frozen delights inside. People meander about unable to decide which flavor they would partake in while Kodachi herself was unable to decide what to make of this decidedly new experience... It was, after all, the first time she had set foot in an icecream parlor.

"Tell me about it," Ranma chuckled, correctly interpreting the black haired girl's odd expression. "Believe it or not there was a day back when where I wouldn't even set foot in a place like this on principle alone."

"It's so... so..." The Kuno sister struggled for the word, finally happening upon it as she stared at the pimply teenage male clerk behind the counter. In fact the entire setting made her feel overdressed in black dress with white lace trim she had donned post match. It's price tag alone could have probably purchased all the ice cream behind the glass. It also made her next statement all the more fitting. "It's so _common_."

Where she was potential overdress, her redheaded counterpart likewise stuck out in her mandarin styling consisting of a blue silk shirt and black pants. Ranma silently acknowledged the fact that ice cream parlors like this one were in abundant supply and shrugged, unknowingly missing the thrust of Kodachi's comment. "Maybe, but this one's got a pretty mean banana split."

"But why are we here again?" The black haired girl wondered, still unsure of whether or not she should even be seen in such a place.

"Victory celebration, duh," Ranma rolled her eyes and left the small booth they were sitting in. When she returned five minutes later, two banana splits were in hand; one of which she slid across to Kodachi. The St. Bacchus star stared at the multi-colored creation as Ranma elaborated with a quirked smile. "'Cides, I can't just let you cart me around in a limo and take ringside seats without some 'recompense', right?"

That explanation left Kodachi's brain awhirl. _'Victory celebration?'_The words echoed through her mind. Nobody celebrated her victories. Well, at least nobody she either hadn't paid in advance or feared her outright, and that was pretty much everybody. While she was far from certain of her social footing in the here and now with this redhead, some part of her instinctively knew they had moved beyond any facade of recompense into something she had little experience in. She was willing to try, however.

.._.Desperate_to try, in fact.

"I think I would like that... _Ma-chan_," Kodachi replied carefully, testing the waters she now found herself immersed in. The Kuno sibling watched Ranma's reaction carefully, observing her note the title with a curious look before shrugging.

"I won't lie to ya though," Ranma commented with a secretive look, gesturing to the ice cream treat. "I'm a fiend for sweets like this."

Kodachi eyed the redhead as she dug in, sectioning off a generous portion of banana and ice cream to be savored. It invariably drew her attention to her own, but with more introspective accompanying its study. She took her spoon in hand and partitioned her own delicate slice of the dessert to be consumed. Banana saccharin flavor exploded in her mouth in a way that left her blinking.

"Gonna have to play with that Blow of a Thousand Hands for myself," The redhead continued her running commentary on the day's events. "I could probably match all twenty blow for blow with a single pin, but throwin' all twenty into a single attack was pretty impressive any way you look at it."

"I am quite dismayed that I never had the opportunity to employ the special tools." The St. Bacchus girl nearly sighed with the recollection. "It did make for a spectacularly boring match, did it not?"

"Knew that goin' in. Tendo's decent if you get her in hand to hand, but a match like this? Maybe it'll sink that she's still got a ways to go." Ranma shrugged with the matter of fact, then fixed her with a curious look. "Where did ya get the pig, anyway?"

"I found it wandering about the school yards. Fitting symbolism, if I must say," Kodachi smiled charitably, then posed her own question to the redhead. "But Tendo-san's reaction... You knew."

"Let's just say that she dislikes that particular pig." Ranma chuckled at the inside joke. "I'd have warned ya if I knew you'd actually stumble across ol' P-chan."

"The warning you were able to provide was quite sufficient in lieu of foreknowledge," The Kuno sibling inclined her head graciously while reflecting on the fact. Another thing freely given between them. It was... _nice._" Though how a piglet would produce such a violent reaction is beyond me."

"He ain't your ordinary piglet," Ranma sniffed with obvious disdain. "I'll have to tell you the story sometime."

"Then perhaps I shall feed him to Mister Turtle next he falls into my possession," Kodachi returned, picking up on her friend's mood. She then produced a sly smile with the redhead's overt confusion concerning the turtle in question. "A story I will have to tell you sometime."

"PIGTAILED GIRL!" The cry of joy followed the ring of the establishment's doorbell, all but causing Ranma to choke on her next bite at the well recognize male voice. "How fortunate it was that I should happen to spy-"

_**THUNK.**_

Tatewake Kuno's proclamation of love and his leaping advance to her seat were cut off by Ranma's outstretched leg and the foot painfully applied to his face. Ranma took her bite regardless of flailing kendoist stuck to the other end of her leg. After another moment of trying to reach her in spite of the impediment, the upper classman's brain kicked in and he pulled back and away. He opened his mouth to continue but she interrupted regardless.

"Save it Kuno. Not interested."

Kodachi stared at the girl and then the boy, cocking her head in an attempt to reconcile the meeting. She turned back to the redhead. "You know my brother, Ma-chan?"

"If constantly gettin' hit on then beating him down counts as knowing, then yeah, guess so." Ranma shrugged and took another bite of her banana split while the kendoist's head jerked back and forth from sister to redhead; the latter whom he noted no longer actually had a pigtail. In its place was a simple string tied ponytail of the same approximate length.

"Indeed, I thought he was fixated on another?" Kodachi questioned as if her brother wasn't less than a meter away and wondering just how his sister had involved herself with his love interest. His _other _love interest.

"Yeah, that was Tendo too." The martial artist shook her head in feigned disappointment.

"Truly?" The Black Rose's head jerked to stare at her brother as if she couldn't comprehend such an outcome. "How low are you willing to sink, brother of mine?"

"My sister! The pony tailed goddess!" Kodachi's elder brother finally managed a word in edgewise and used it to express his incredulity. "How should such a confluence of events transpire that thoust are acquainted?!"

"Well unlike you, Ko-chan here isn't a head-case," Ranma commented with an offhanded gesture towards her table partner who in turn nodded with the complement.

"Perhaps you should take the _subtle _hint, brother," Kodachi teased. "Ma-chan is not interested and you would do well not to pursue the low stock of the Tendo line. Surely the outcome of the match is enough to make you reconsider."

"Nay!" Tatewake declared, folding his arms. "Her loss at your hands merely confirms the preeminence of house Kuno!"

"Yeah, and the two timing thing?" Ranma inserted dryly, only to watch the upperclassmen pump his fist.

"If the heavens gift me with two such exquisite flowers, who am I to refuse their blessing!" With that proclamation, Kuno lunged again and received the remainder of the redhead's banana split in the face, sending him blindly tumbling to the tile floor as the parlor's customers watched.

Ranma shook her head with disappointment, glancing back to Kodachi as she got up out of her seat. "Mind if I kick your brother's ass now?"

"As long as you do no lasting harm," She nodded and the popping of her friend's knuckles met her ear. "He is family after all."

Ranma smirked back. "I'll be _real _gentle."

* * *

**F**or Ranma Saotome, currently female heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, a dojo had one purpose and one purpose only: It was a structure one used for the betterment of the art. As such, anytime one found Ranma in a dojo, he- in this case she -was usually engaged in some martial arts related activity. Katas, kicks, punches or the occasional smack down between her and her father were all within the realm of possibility, but there was one that Ranma found herself rarely engaged in...

...Silent introspection.

The black haired boy or redheaded girl was rarely seen to be stationary within the confines of the dojo and rarely staring at the tatame in thoughtful contemplation. This evening as the sun set unseen beyond the walls of the Tendo dojo, one would happen upon this rare event if they were they present; but nobody was. Ranma was alone with only her thoughts for company and those weighty thoughts were dominated by a single question.

_"Would you like to be friends?"_

Ranma let her eyes wander around the dojo without really seeing. The martial artist indeed would have liked to been friends simply because she had seen so few of them in her life. Of course, she had known a few here and there, but those potential relationships had always been cut short by life. _He_and his father were always on the move and whatever acquaintances she made were invariably thrown to the wind within weeks, or if she was lucky, months down the road when it was time to leave.

Again.

_'Ucc-chan,'_The hazy memory floated to the surface, causing Ranma a twinge of remorse. He had been yet another casualty on the long road to martial arts mastery like many others. Ryoga, until recently, had been another. Ranma sighed to herself as the question dominated his thoughts yet again.

_"Would you like to be friends?"_

This time it took on a distinctly feminine tone, one reproduced directly from memory. The vision of a friendly smile accompanied it, causing a corresponding frown from Ranma. Akane had offered and she had been quick to accept. Friendship was precious. Rare. _Fragile_. The latter was a lesson learned over countless breaks on the road, but Akane was the first to purposely take a ball peen hammer to it.

Ranma produce a derisive snort with the memory. It wasn't as if she was a girl after all. She wouldn't go crying to momma because Tendo wasn't playing nice. She didn't need the girl's friendship, or anybody else's' for that matter. Friendship had always taken a backseat to the Art and Akane Tendo had shown her there was no reason to deviate from that pattern. Friendship was just another painful distraction on a long, literal road of disappointment.

_"Would you like to be friends?"_

And yet, maybe... Just _maybe _it was still possible from the very person that hadn't asked. Somehow it had just happened. A back lot fight. A limo ride. The massage. A gymnastics brawl. A banana split. None of it had been asked for by either participant but somehow the question had been answered by a name like the one she had so long ago as a child.

"Ma-chan?" Ranma mouthed softly, feeling out the new nickname for herself. It had a slightly humorous ring to it, one that only friends would share. There was, of course, a huge, potentially fatal fracture in that friendship and it went by the name of Jusenkyo. It had killed anything she felt for the seemingly cute girl known as Akane Tendo and eventually this fledgling friendship with Kodachi would endure the same test. Would it die off in the same violent manner?

_'Probably,' _Ranma thought dolefully, yet there was a spark of hope that persisted in spite of the odds. A friend. A real friend. One she wouldn't leave a few months down the road or whenever her old man found it convenient. She thought solemnly on the matter, indulging in a fraction of self-pity whether she realized it or not. For now, there was no male Ranma Saotome. There wouldn't be one for some time. For now she was just a girl...

...with a friend?

Of course, she'd have to tell Kodachi sooner than later. The longer she let the curse remain a secret, the harder it would be on her later. Akane had actually done her a favor by showing her true self so quickly. It made for a clean break even if the girl's temper was anything but 'clean'. She'd best handle Kodachi the same-

The scrape of the dojo door opening drew Ranma's attention to another Tendo entering. Ranma watched Nabiki merely loiter in the doorway with a dour expression on her face, staring at her person as if the act were likely to instill fear into her heart somehow. Ranma simply stared back and after several minutes of standoff, Nabiki finally spoke.

"You owe me, Saotome."

"And how do you figure that?" Ranma arched a red eyebrow, not seeing rhyme or reason to her declaration.

"My sister lost to Kodachi and I lost big because of you." She began ticking the points off on her fingers, as if adding damning evidence to a case. "You said she was going to win, so I'm going to make sure you make up for the loss."

The snort of laugher surprised her.

"Are you kidding? Akane never had a chance!" Ranma was beside herself with what Nabiki had just proposed. "Your sister should have never written checks her ass couldn't cash and neither should you."

"But you said it was in the bag, Saotome!" Nabiki stomped, her temper rising at the boy-girl's flippant attitude.

"It was," The redhead shrugged, suddenly realizing the thrust of her questioning early in the day. Ranma was happy to clarify her statement with an arrogant smirk. "It was in Ko-chan's bag. Don't blame me for the corners you cut."

"Listen you martial arts jock, I... I..." Nabiki's fury suddenly sputtered as a key piece of information was plucked from the girl's last sentence. It left her blinking at Ranma. "What do you mean, _Ko-chan?_"

"Go pump somebody else for information, _Tendo_," Ranma's patience with the girl expired and she brushed past her since she obviously wasn't going to move out of the dojo's only exit. "'Cuz between your pictures and your sister's temper tantrums, I'm startin to get tired of the way the Tendos treat their 'guests'."

With that parting shot and the rough physical contact of her passing, the redhead was gone out into the fading dusk light, leaving her alone, mind whirling with what had just happened.

'_Ko-chan.'_

The familiarity of the title echoed through her brain like a gunshot. It implied things. Bad things. The first bad thing it implied was that they were friends on some level. _'Friends with a psychopath,' _Nabiki amended as she recalled Kodachi's defining personality traits. Taken further, it meant that Ranma had access to wealth and influence, another bad thing if leveraged against her own activities.

Then there was the third bad thing, perhaps worse than the other two... She had been played. She had been fed bad information by a friend of the very person her sister was matched against; a person she obviously stood no chance of winning against. It was a fact that Nabiki probably would have uncovered for herself if she had dug any deeper, but she hadn't. She had been lazy. Not only that, but Saotome knew she it and used that weakness against her.

In short, she just got taken to school.

"Sonofabitch..." Nabiki murmured as the full import of Ranma's intentional blindside settled down around her. Part of her was furious for having lost so much money. The other part of Nabiki could only blame herself. She had tried to get something for nothing against somebody she had clearly underestimated. _'Martial Arts Jock my ass,'_the Ice Queen revised bitterly. The boy or girl or whatever was definitely smarter than she looked and had connections with money; facts that forced a concerned Nabiki to revise her estimation of Ranma Saotome...

...Ranma Saotome was clearly somebody to watch out for.

* * *

**B**lood was something the martial arts prodigy known as Ranma Saotome was well familiar with and as such was more or less inured to its sight. She had trained hard over the last ten years; hard enough to see all manner of cuts, scrapes and open wounds. It was the proverbial price of doing business for a martial artist of her caliber, especial one trained by Genma Saotome, a man renowned for sloth and corner cutting. Injuries at the hand of such negligence were inevitable, but Ranma Saotome took them and the occasional bloodletting in stride.

Bloodletting from the crotch, on the other hand was a bit more disconcerting.

Even that wouldn't exactly be a precedent for the redhead now trudging grumpily down the hallway with a bed sheet in hand. Ordinarily she would chalk it up to hard exercise or a sucker punch from the old man, but this particular bout of bloodletting was different and all too familiar. If the squirming in her gut hadn't told her so, the feeling of nausea did, causing the martial artist let loose a mental shiver. The last time she had spent enough time as girl to endure _that_ was back in China and she knew _exactly _what was causing it.

_'Just can't catch a break in this house,'_Ranma groused as she was forcibly reminded that she was spending way too much time as a girl. Once inside the bathroom she found the nearest tap and began to clean the sheet up, then discarded her own clothing to help herself. The cold water wasn't welcome, but it did help wash the sleep away. The uncomfortable squirming in her gut remained, however. Her mood soured as she finished up the cold rinse and proceeded to ring the sheet out.

Ranma ignored the off-pink water that dribbled out and tossed the damp linen toward the corner hamper. Ranma got up and found her clothes for the day and slid them on thoughtlessly as another portion of her mind dwelled on the broken inner workings of the Tendo household, irritating her further. It would unfortunately be irritation that Genma Saotome would receive in its fullest measure only minutes later as they confronted one another in the hall.

"Apologize?!" The bald father figure reeled against the measure of scorn in her voice as her tone picked up heat and intensity. "There ain't no goddamn way I'm apologizin' to Tendo!"

Genma tired to open his mouth to insert a word in edgewise, but she denied him outright. Her blue eyes flashed crystal death as she continued unabated, jabbing a thumb at her person angrily. "She lost the goddamn match, not me and she's got the nerve to mope around the place for the last week like it's somehow my fault?!"

The patriarch's mouth opened once more, but his son turned daughter was far from finished.

"Maybe if little miss prima donna can admit she ain't God's gift to martial arts," Ranma huffed, putting her hands on her hips definitely. "I mean seriously! This is the way they treat their guests? I'm still waitin' for _my _apology for all the crap she's been calling me from the moment I stepped foot in this place. Pervert this, deviant that! If that ain't enough, I got her sister sellin' candid photos of me and the eldest callin' me half-girl like I'm some sort of freak show! And you want me engaged to these people...?!"

Genma didn't even bother this time.

"Fat. Chance." The martial artist spat vehemently. "And what the hell is your problem anyway? You couldn't think of a better way to pull this stunt than springin' it all on us at the last minute? Real smooth, old man. Real smooth. Cuz if you can't find a dragon whisker soon, I think I'm gonna go out and look for one myself and I leave this bad idea way behind."

The elder martial artist stared at his panting neo-daughter carefully as if she were rabid and liable to bite again if provoked. After a few minutes of silence under her smoldering stare, he decided to carefully clarify his question.

"What's for breakfast again, boy?"

"Hmmf. Rice and miso," She answered gruffly, as if the question had offended her in some way. "Goin' out."

Genma Saotome wisely chose to just let her go, watching her round the corner and hearing the door slam seconds later. Normally he would have taken her to task for such backtalk but the situation scarily resembled those he had witnessed many times over... Just not in the last ten years.

Outside, Ranma Saotome breathed a sigh of relief upon leaving the confines of the Tendo household. It was somehow more stressful and claustrophobic than usual and just being out in the open air made a world of difference. She was just starting down the path leading off the property when a door closed behind her, followed by a presence joining her side. She glanced left and found Nabiki Tendo falling in step beside her.

"Didn't we go through this last week?" Ranma decided to preempt any monetary claim the Tendo was about to make since the offensive was hers for the taking. "I ain't feelin none too charitable right now, so why don't you go take your photo hobby somewhere else."

Nabiki continued to simply walk beside her until they had reached the courtyard gate where Ranma stopped, staring at Nabiki. "What?"

"Rough morning?" Nabiki simply asked and earned another penetrating stare. Deciding small talk would get her nowhere, she decided on a more direct tack. "I made a mistake last week."

"And I made a mistake three weeks ago," Ranma commented dryly and began walking again. They crossed out onto the public sidewalk and began to walk the block. Oddly enough, neither knew exactly where they were going.

Nabiki continued her study of the redhead, who in turn was doing her best to ignore her. She broke the ice once again. "I'd like to propose a truce."

A truce implied they were at war according to Ranma's world view, something that didn't to fit at first glance until she took a second, recalling her own frustrations with the plainly dysfunctional family as a whole. It wasn't quite a war but it was close. _'A cold war,' _Ranma decided and finally acknowledged the Tendo's presence.

"Such as?"

"Professional courtesy, for starters," Nabiki offered now that the redhead wasn't completely closed to her presence. "Something I should have extended you last week. For that, I apologize."

Ranma gave the girl a searching look and wanted to accept the apology outright, but between her and her sister, it just wouldn't come out of her mouth like that. Instead, something else did. "I'll think about it."

The well had been poisoned enough to where Nabiki wasn't expecting much better, so she merely nodded. "I understand, of course. I would also like to extend an olive branch as it were in order to maintain a working relationship between us."

"And what's that?" The martial artist asked with only mild interest, as if her mind were somewhere else.

"I've taken care of the-"

"RANMA!" The accented female voice rang out to interrupt Nabiki and she was just looking around to find its source when Ranma yanked her back hard as a large plate metal ball landed where she had just been about to step. Concrete shattered with the impact, but it was the second metal ball arcing horizontally for her head that occupied the majority of the Tendo's attention.

Where she was frozen in shock, the martial artist at her side was not. Ranma ducked under its arc, pivoting up on one foot and using the other leg to snap the chui's neck. The ball tumbled harmlessly away and when Nabiki had finally recovered her wits she found the redhead facing off again a girl. 'Chinese,' She wondered at the features and the silk clothing. Her elaborate lavender hair swayed with the light breeze, but for all her exotic beauty, she did not look happy. _At all_.

"Shampoo?!" Ranma exclaimed, pointing at the girl wildly. "Just what are you doing in Japan, anyway?!"

Chinese girl. Ranma wears Chinese clothing. Spent more than two years in china. _'Jilted love interest?' _Nabiki speculated. It was speculation she would have to revise with the girl's next words.

"I KILL!" Shampoo discarded the broken shaft of her second chui and lunged at Ranma with the first. On any other day, the redhead might have distracted the homicidal Amazon and simply ran off like countless times before. After all, any stand up duel would mean stopping the girl in some permanent way since she didn't play nice. She played with swords, spears and bone crushing spheres of death. Today, however, Ranma wasn't in the mood for it.

"I ain't in the mood for it today, Shampoo!" One such sphere blew by the side of her head, kicking up her ponytail with the wind and she truly wasn't in the mood for 'it' or the spears or the swords. Not only was she up to her eyeballs in curses and Tendos, Ranma had now been a girl for over three weeks straight thanks to the latter.

To say her female biology was finally taking its toll on her was a vast understatement.

Ranma profiled left and evaded another strike, then stepped nimbly back out of the foot sweep that followed. The redhead's mood worsened. "I'm warnin' ya..."

Her warning went unheeded as the lavender haired Chinese girl pressed her attack. Ranma neatly evaded another combination, prompting a third when her patience finally expired. Ranma met the next chui swipe head on, stopping its forward momentum with a single hand and a dire glare.

"You're the only person..." She then gripped the ball with her other hand and literally yanked it out of Shampoo's grasp. "...I just can't..." Sufficiently disarmed, the irate girl threw the metal sphere to the earth and stomped hard, imploding the weapon outright in an amazing display of strength. "...Deal with!"

Ranma pulled her foot out of the destroyed weapon and kicked it off to the side as if it were little more than a broken toy. Shampoo stood fast against the redhead's now boiling temper. "Y'know, I let somebody else run around and obsess over revenge for a while when I shoulda just kicked their ass in the first place... so better late than never, right?"

Shampoo's answer was a sword that tore across the intervening space in a swipe that would have ventilated the Saotome's neck if it had connected. Ranma leaned back, letting it pass mere centimeters away before charging in as it passed. The hilt fell from her hands only seconds after deploying the weapon as Ranma chopped at her wrist and executed a reverse spin to evade the knife she had pulled with her right hand.

Shampoo was caught completely flat-footed in that moment as the redhead had never actively sought to engage her. Disarm, evade and run like a _coward _had always been the foreigners' tactical doctrine up until now; a tactical doctrine she had apparently chosen to abandon. It also left the lavender haired Amazon completely unprepared and by the time the Amazon had realized her miss, Ranma's leg had completed its rotation to line up perfectly with Shampoo's kneecap. To her credit, the girl merely grunted her pain at its displacement, though it merely paved the way for more pain. With the Amazon's guard terminally compromised, Ranma was allowed unrestricted access to her inner body and continued the tour of punishment, blindsiding her with an untraceable barrage of rapid fire strikes that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere.

Ten seconds later the bruised and bloodied girl staggered back in a daze on one functional leg, no longer completely coherent of her target. Ranma simply folded her arms and watched the girl stagger for another moment before consciousness fled the girl completely.

Shampoo took a dirt nap.

Nabiki had watched the entire scene in simultaneous thrill and terror. This was the real thing, not Akane's morning brawls with the Furikan boys. This new girl had been out to kill, and would have happily taken her out if it meant getting to Ranma faster. Ranma in turn had played with her for a little bit then dropped the Chinese girl like a bag of rice. Even now she watched as the redhead picked up the Amazon's sword and spun it around as if to test the balance. Nabiki's alarm only increased when she started to move toward the unconscious girl.

"Uh, Ranma, what... what are you doing?" She questioned weakly. Half of her wanted to go over and delay the girl since it looked she was going to finish this Shampoo girl off like old samurai movie. The other part of her simply wouldn't move. Instead, she merely reached out with her hand, as if she would somehow stop the redhead across the intervening ten meters of space.

Ranma ignored or perhaps didn't even hear the middle Tendo's missive and instead stood above the unconscious Amazon for a moment before angling the xian point first at the girl's head, then _buried _it. Nabiki realized her choked scream was quite unnecessary seconds later as the martial artist walked away: The blade was now standing edge on just to the right of the girl's head; a quarter of its length imbedded in dirt, not flesh.

_'That's one stone cold bitch,' _Nabiki shivered as the redhead walked off, leaving both Tendo and Amazon behind.

* * *

**R**anma studied the crumpled napkin in hand once more, trying to fix her present location with that listed on the scrap she had unfolded. A quick glance around easily indicated she had moved from the average income spectrum of prefecture to the above middle class. She looked down her direction of travel and the increasingly expensive houses to the left and right assuring her that the trend of affluence would only continue upward as she walked.

Five minutes and a left turn onto the street indicated on her paper only confirmed the fact. The houses had turned from modest flats that subtly advertised their owner's wealth to monolithic, gated mansions promising any passerby that the residence had more money than God.

_'Feel underdressed just walkin the sidewalks,' _She thought self consciously. On the streets the traffic had thinned and those automobiles that did pass on occasion were invariably the luxury sort. Porche. BMW. _'Don't even know what kind that is,' _Ranma paid the high end mode of transportation another moment's worth of attention before continuing on down the sidewalk. Finding the Kuno residence was ultimately much easier than she thought, as indicated by the giant gold 'K' set upon a pair of overly large iron gates whose bars had been twisted into intricate curves and scrolling. Ranma stared at the double gates, then at the innocuous little black box to the right.

After some study, Ranma pressed the green button hesitantly and it chirped politely back. The speaker within hissed and she leaned down toward it, speaking. "Ah, hello?"

Silence met her efforts and this time she pressed the red button. Electronic tones set to 'Mary had a little Lamb' began to play, prompting Ranma's brow to scrunch up in frustration. The chime finished seconds later and the redhead shrugged, abandoning any further attempt to manipulate the intercom. Instead, she hopped the fence, landing atop the block wall bracing the gates to have a look at the interior. What she found was a veritable park of trees, grass and flowers flanking the roadway leading up to the mansion itself. Ranma gave the curving roadway a quick glance before settling on a more direct route through the property itself. She hopped off the wall and walked, admiring the well kept greenery... at least until her foot snagged on spider web thin wire along her path of travel.

While the redhead hadn't registered its sight, she felt its tension and in turn the heard the audible click that accompanied it. Memories cascaded and experiences recalled similar circumstances from her days on the road with her father. Ranma's eyes widened with alarm and she ducked low in a blur even as the whistle of wind met her ears. She rolled out as four steel lengths flashed over her now prone person, thunking into a nearby mass. The martial artist flipped back up and found the thick steel senbon imbedded in a tree to her right, then eyed the branch spring launcher to her left with a raised eyebrow.

_'Well that was fun,' _She shook her head, resolving to be more aware of the path she had chosen. Ranma continued on along her way, picking through the underbrush warily. No trip wires were sighted and she breathed a sigh of relief. Ten steps later, that sigh of relief gave way to adrenaline fueled terror as the ground on both sides of the redhead erupted. Two giant planks replete with spikes exploded from the grass on either side, closing like a pair of jaws on her.

"What the hell?!" She balked and leapt upward in the half second she had to act before the plank trap crushed her wholesale. Her jump angled toward the left plank and she used one of the protruding spikes as a springboard to propel her up and over just as the mechanism snapped shut.

_**CRACK!**_

Ranma landed and felt the ground give way instantly.

'_PIT!_' Her intellect screamed and clawed for the edge even as the earth beneath her gave way, falling into an array of sharpened bamboo spikes. She pushed off even as the sun was blotted out and the second part of the trap was sprung. A giant rock fell even has she hit the opposite side of the pit's wall, bouncing out of it and narrowly missing entombment as the round boulder rolled down to seal the hole with a loud crunch.

The martial artist landed in a low, flattened crouch, senses fully primed for whatever would come next. She had managed to clear the heavier growth and now stood on flat, well manicured grass with little in the way of concealment for any further traps. She held her guard for another moment then sighed relief, returning to height.

_'Some security system they got here,'_ Ranma sighed and continued along the open grass as it wound along a small, pristine lake. Even as she marveled at the destruction behind her she smiled. _'Good practice though.'_

A small school of koi noted her presence along the water's edge and began to follow her, seemingly expecting food. Ranma chuckled at the colorful fish, almost wishing she had something to feed them. She paused to admire the lake and suddenly the fish scattered. Ranma blinked and almost didn't see the shadow in the deeper water until the very last moment.

_**"GRRRAAA!"**_

It was green. It was huge. It was a giant crocodile and it was looking to make a martial arts snack out of Ranma. The water erupted in a geyser as rows of sharp teeth exploded from the pond. The stunned martial artist could only gape as the reptile bore down on her, then finally dodged left in a last minute save as the alligator with dark green stripes wallowed ashore, tracking it's prey. It hissed menacingly, snapping its jaws and Ranma gave ground; if only to give herself more options for when hostilities renewed. The redhead eyed the silver plated collar bearing a little kitty sticker.

"Mister Turtle, huh?" Ranma smirked, reading the name plate and remembering her conversation with Kodachi. Slitted eyes tracked her as she cracked her knuckles. "Thinkin' Ko-chan might be sore if I busted up her pet, so you best you hop back in the pond."

A rumbling hiss met her advisement and the crocodile held its ground. Ranma shrugged. "Don't say I didn't-"

Whip-_**SNAP!**_

"Bad Mister Turtle!" The black blur of a gymnastics ribbon cracked against the reptile's snout, causing it to flinch. It hissed with the pain and turned back toward its newest potential meal. Mister Turtle eyed Kodachi Kuno with a tilted head, as if considering her position on the food chain when the girl made her next demand. "Back to the pond! Shoo! Shoo!"

Ranma watched as the crocodile's massive head seemed to swing indecisively between her and the girl in the white sleeveless blouse and black knee length dress until said girl pulled out a small black box and flipped a clear plastic lid open to reveal a small red button. She eyed her pet with a no-nonsense look. "Back into the pond with you Mister Turtle, or this encounter shall become unpleasant."

Another throaty hiss emanated from the bowels of the reptile. It snapped its jaws in challenge but gave ground, wallowing back along the bank before sliding into the water. Ranma watched the shadow sink into the depths then looked over at Kodachi with an arched brow.

"Mister Turtle, huh?"

Kodachi smiled for her guest. "Acquired during my childhood. I wanted a turtle, but my father thought a Nile Crocodile would be a more exotic pet. I'm sure you can understand my initial lack of enthusiasm."

"I'm thinkin' your dad's nuts." Ranma rolled her eyes and walked over to join Kodachi. "Ain't sure which is worse: Throwin' your kid into a pit to be eaten by starving cats or buyin' your kid a pet that will eventually eat you."

"Indeed," Kodachi replied in a dry tone, empathizing with her friend. "Mister Turtle started out small but quickly outgrew his couch beneath my bed. Needless to say studying homework with him on the loose was hardly dull."

"Can't imagine why," Ranma sniffed with knowing humor. The pair crossed over a bridge and proceed into the mansion. Finally having a clear view and not dodging booby traps and reptiles alike, Ranma studied the lines of the Kuno Estate. The architecture was classic; so classic that it looked to have come straight out of old Edo. She pulled her attention away from the building and back to the girl leading her. "Hope I ain't interrupting. You mentioned Saturdays were good."

"Nonsense." Kodachi waved her concern away. "I shall simply have one of the servants tend to the garden while we occupy our time with more important activities."

"What did you have in mind?" Ranma cocked her head curiously and the Kuno sibling smiled back.

"You mentioned interest in my Blow of a Thousand Hands technique?" Kodachi slid open a door and stepped into an alcove that would lead deeper into her residence. The black haired girl slipped off her heels and Ranma followed suit with her own Chinese slippers. Kodachi glanced back to her friend. "And perhaps introduce you to some of the more specialized tools of the art while we're at it."

"I'm thinkin' you read my mind," Ranma grinned and followed her deeper into the house. Sculptures and artwork adorned the various rooms and hallways they navigated while servants in classic black and white uniforms bowed at their passage. If the neighborhood and courtyard hadn't made it clear to the redhead, the mansion itself did: The Kunos were filthy rich.

Kodachi paused beside a maid with honey blond hair who in turn dipped into a low bow. "Mistress Kuno?"

"We will require use of the gym, Ariel-chan," The black haired teen advised easily. "Please ensure its readiness."

"Of course, Mistress," The maid bowed once more and turned away, beckoning another maid over to relay the request.

With the order dispatched, Kodachi continued back toward her destination, smiling easily back at Ranma. "Come. We'll change in my room, Ma-chan."

Ranma blinked as her thought process encountered its first hurdle since arriving. "Change?"

"You brought no exercise garments of your own," Her friend explained patiently. "Fear not, however. I have a closet full of leotards that you may choose from."

"Ah, heh," Ranma's mouth was suddenly dry. She fingered her own Chinese mao shirt to make her case. "You know I can practice just fine in this."

"Nonsense," Kodachi remarked, failing to notice her partner's trepidation. "Proper form follows proper attire."

"Right," Ranma murmured, not so much agreeing with the girl as unwilling to rock the boat of their fledgling relationship. Twenty minutes later it was a moot point either way. Ranma Saotome had been cajoled into wearing a purple leotard with a green vine lattice winding up her left breast and down the arm while Kodachi stood opposite of her in a dark emerald green leotard pattern with roses up and down the torso. Part of Ranma had to balk at the outfit on principle since it was about as feminine as one could get, while the other had to admit it was functionally perfect for the practice they were about to engage in. She stretched and flexed restlessly, testing the range of the new garment as Kodachi collected their tools.

In the end, the pros outweighed the cons. It wasn't as if anybody else was there to witness the act and a new technique was always worth and exception or two in Ranma's mind. Finally there was Kodachi herself who seemed to actually enjoy picking out a leotard for her. If the technique wasn't worth the exception, her new friend was and the redhead simply grinned and bore it like the martial artist she was.

Ranma put the annoyance out of her mind and instead concentrated on her surroundings. Like everything else in the mansion, Kodachi's own private gym was absolutely huge; at least twice the size of the Tendo dojo itself and equipped with everything an aspiring gymnast could hope for. Some of that equipment was in Kodachi's hands and the martial artist watched as she handled six throwing pins.

"Multitasking is absolutely vital to mastering the Blow of a Thousand Hands," Kodachi began her instruction by tossing several pins into the air to juggle them in a low arc. Once the six were airborne, she turned back to the redhead, juggling the pins on automation. "Not only is it necessary to keep all of your pins in rotation, but simultaneously strike your opponent as well to saturate their defenses."

Ranma's eyes followed the pins through their arcs as the gymnast juggled them nimbly. After studying her activities for another moment, the redhead shrugged and picked up her own pins and began juggling them with the same ease. "Ain't so hard."

"Now strike," Kodachi nodded and demonstrated, snatching a pin from its rotation to be thrust out before her then threw it back up into its holding pattern. She watched Ranma easily pluck her own pin out of the air and duplicate the motion. The Kuno sibling smiled. "This time two pins."

The girls repeated the process together and Kodachi steadily upped the difficulty, adding three, then four pins. By six, Ranma's coordination began to falter. The grimacing redhead was still able to maintain the technique and deploy the attacks in a blur, but she was straining to the pins in the air, let alone maintain Kodachi's graceful speed. The gymnast watched with an appraising eye and tossed another pin into Ranma's rotation for a total of seven, watching her friend scramble to integrate it into the pattern and maintain her attacks. Pin number eight was where it all fell apart for the martial artist as she simply couldn't maintain the attacks or the juggling. One pin tumbled out of formation instigating a cascading failure that sent every last one of the gymnastics implements clattering down around the cringing girl.

The only pin that hadn't hit the ground was the one immediately in hand and Ranma stared at the rolling pins around her in dismay. "Well that sucks."

"Do not sell youself short, Ma-chan," Kodachi produced a friendly smile as the girl gathered her pins back in hand. "That was actually three better than I thought you would achieve."

"Ain't good enough," Ranma huffed and began to toss the pins airborne again with determination. "One more time, Ko-chan!"

All told, Ranma's one more time would last another six more times as the girl ruthlessly attempted to conquer the technique while Kodachi supervised with no small amount of admirations at the girl's work ethic. Yes, Ranma knew she could obtain superior speed with one or two pins in hand and to hand melee, but this technique had its own advantages and was pressing her skill. By round six she had nine pins tumbling through the air at respectable speeds. They still weren't nearly as gracefully employed as Kodachi who was juggling next to her in tandem, but she was getting-

"MY FIERY GODDESS!"

The martial artist twitched with the all too familiar voice and nine pins fell from the air. Ranma whirled on the source her eyes flashing angrily even as they bounced around her. "DAMMIT KUNO! I was almost on my tenth pin!"

"As soon as the arrival of your presence was related to my person I had to come!" The upperclassman effused, stepping briskly across the mat with outstretched arms. "Let me show how much I have missed thy!"

Whip-_**SNAP!**_

Tatewaki leapt back with wide eyes as a black ribbon snapped at his feet. He traced the ribbon's curvature back to its source: His sister. The upper classman's eyes narrowed. "Why do you seek to stay my passion, sister of mine?"

"I would think it is obvious that Ma-chan does not seek your favor," Kodachi stepped around the redhead, coiling the ribbon through air like a serpent. "And you have interrupted our practice with your incessant prattle."

"Stand aside so that I may console my crimson maiden," the kendoist folded his arms imperviously. "If I have intruded I shall thus make amends with a kiss!"

"My ass you will," Ranma rolled her eyes, then glanced over to her sister in arms. "Can I borrow the ribbon there?"

"Of course," Kodachi politely handed the implement over and Ranma began to coil it through the air herself.

"Figure if you're gonna show me a technique, I'd show you one too," She commented absently. "Got the idea for this one while you were mopping the floor with Akane."

"Oh?" The sister cocked her head, watching as the girl turned back toward her brother.

_**SNAP!**_

"Come to me, my- YOW!" The strike was a black blur that found Tatewake Kuno somewhere on the upper thigh of his left leg. Nothing seemed to happen beyond the pain and Ranma cocked her head in contemplation for a moment before employing the ribbon again with more force. This time Kuno stumbled and fell to the floor without feeling in his leg. He tried to struggle back up on his good leg when another lightning snap found his right leg. Tatewake flopped over on his side with another yelp, blinking. "What...what sorcery is this!?"

"Pressure points." Ramna commented for Kodachi's benefit, whose mouth was formed into an impressed 'oh'. "Normally you use 'em in hand to hand, but no reason you can't use a ribbon if you got enough accuracy. Didn't use enough snap the first time, looks like."

The black haired girl nodded with admiring appraisal, studying the results for herself while her own brother flopped impotently on the floor. She glanced back to Ranma curiously. "And you can use this on _any _body part?"

"This is my first time testin' it, but don't see why not," Ranma shrugged, handing the gymnastics ribbon back to her black haired companion as she elaborated. "Hands, legs, a few points that will drop 'em like a bag of rice."

The gleam in Kodachi's eye was readily apparent and Ranma could all but see the girl imagining the technique's practical application just as she had with the Blow of a Thousand Hands. "I don't suppose..."

"Duh, what are friends for?" Ranma didn't even let Kodachi finish, effecting an exaggerated roll of her eyes as she went all in with the interpersonal gambit. It was a gambit that paid off with an immediate smile.

"Of course," Kodachi nodded demurely, nearly as relieved as Ranma that the redhead had all but removed any remaining guesswork from whatever their association had become. She motioned grandiosely toward the gym exit. "Shall we depart? Brother appears to have more need of the gym than we."

"We shall," Ranma grinned, stepping lightly toward the sliding door past Tatewake. The pair of girls ignored the floundering brother and departed the private gymnasium, sealing him inside.

Kodachi took the lead, directing the redhead down another well decorated hallway. "We shall refresh ourselves. A hot soak will undoubtedly do us a world of good." It took another ten steps before she realized Ranma had stopped. She turned to find her friend's already porcelain skin paler, her eyes wide with alarm. Kodachi rejoined her friend slowly. "Ma-chan?"

The girl blinked as if Kodachi's words had broken a trance. The look of apprehension remained, however. "Ah... it's... ah, I can't..."

"Can't... use the furoh?" The black haired gymnast probed, attempting to ascertain the source of Ranma's consternation.

"Ah, I'm allergic to... I mean... I have an injury... I got a..." The martial artist stumbled as Kodachi waited patiently through Ranma's backtracking until she finally gave up with a labored sigh. "Ah, the hell with it."

Kodachi waited beside her with a concerned look and Ranma knew in that moment she would have to face the music. She took a deep breath and squared up her shoulders, looking Kodachi in the eye and asked in all seriousness.

"Ko-chan... Do you believe in magic?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So I cheated a bit with this chapter. Truthfully I had over 27kw in this fic before it started to get out of hand in terms of editing, so I split it into two chunks to keep it manageable. As such, Chapter 3 will probably be a bit longer in the making as I work it into my normal rotation. Hope you're enjoying it so far :D

**Golden Pair; **_You've probably noticed by this point that I've skipped the Ice Skating Challenge entirely. While I probably could have contrived events to make it happen, consider that there is no love lost between Ranma and Akane, no P-Chan to get worked up over and thus no reason to even initiate the encounter. I may take the suggestion to work it in from a different angle, but the events will be completely different._

**Timeframes, Take 2**_**;**__ I'd like to say just sit back and roll with this one, but apparently that simply isn't an option. First, the same disclaimer gave in the previous ANs- __**I know Ranma 1/2 timeline is screwy.**__ I've merely chosen this route on a whim. That said, lets nitpick this bitch to death :D_

_So far every translation I've checked concerning the frame in question _(Book 15, Ch 10, Pg 1; The Whisker's Secret) _all translate out to a multiple of years, be it ambiguous or a specific number of years, but always more than one. While I've been unable to locate a direct Japanese copy (I used to own all 38 original books myself), this single frame cannot be that hard to translate and multiple sources collaborate the same approximate translation: Years in plural. __**Slade says: **_"'Several years' in English may mean more than two but as a translation of the Japanese phrase "Suu nen" it means more than one but fewer than ten years."

_Unless somebody can find something to contradict the multiple sources, I'm taking the translations at face value._

_The second criticism brought to my attention was that this timeframe doesn't mesh with other Ranma canon information, specifically Ranma and Ryoga's time in school together. If you go by the anime, that was Junior High. If you go by the manga, it was High School. Tackling High School first, it doesn't seem likely that Ranma transferred high schools __**and**__ came from China when his age is only 15 years old at day zero. Ranma is either a child prodigy (fic material in and of itself) or this is a cultural error, probably meaning Junior High to begin with. _

_That leaves us with Junior High as the deal breaker... But not really. For Junior High to invalidate this timeline, Ranma would have to attend __**all four years**__ of it. Conveniently, the duration of his schooling is never specified. In fact, Ranma could have attended only his first or second year of junior high with Ryoga before being pulled away China by Genma, which I might add is entirely plausible and in character given what we know of the man._

_Finally, we again have evidence that his travels are broader than the scope of generally accepted canon. Three words: Girl-Away Packet. What's the point? Well, none really beyond addressing some concerns and illustrating that Ranma 1/2 canon gives people a lot more flexibility than they generally realize._

**Special thanks; **Everybody in chapter one and **Dumbledork**. Thanks Peeps!

**Represent;** And that, Ryvaken, is how its done.


	3. Chapter 3

**K**odachi Kuno didn't believe in magic.

As the second child of a largely broken family, the aspiring gymnast could say with certainty that she had never seen anything that could properly termed as 'magic' in her life, whether it be in the world around her or through her close associations. Her domestic life was undoubtedly a contributing factor. Kodachi's father had taken a mental break from reality. Her brother had insulated himself within a world of medieval samurai. With the sanity around her being such a rare commodity, Kodachi likewise retreated into her own hobbies of gymnastics and horticulture. Living alone with more money than God hadn't helped matters either.

The pessimist would say that any magic in Kodachi's life had gone or fled, having been sucked away by the very circumstances around her; but magic apparently hadn't given up the fight just yet. It was, for all intents and purposes standing before her in the form of a wet, redheaded girl wrapped in the white towel she had been loaned; dripping hair draped down to the small of her back. It was so hard to believe that Kodachi had insisted on seeing it twice; 'It' being the magical transformation that turned her friend from a girl slightly shorter than herself to a boy taller than her.

And then there was the hair.

It grew. Each time it grew, Ranma scrambled for the cold water to control it. Only when the redhead reappeared did her... _his_... hair cease lengthening. Kodachi shook her head as her friend explained the curse. An impossible trip. Chinese assassins. _Two_ curses. _Her friend was actually a boy._

"Please leave." Kodachi Kuno blurted thoughtlessly, interrupting Ranma as she related something in her history concerning boy's school and a bread feud. The redhead's eyes widened as she processed the contents of the interruption, her head snapping back to bear fully on the black haired gymnast. Ranma's mouth hung open with the last syllable that she had managed to speak as the damning request hung between them. The magic. The curse. The story. It was too much, too fast, and the Kuno sibling reiterated her request with averted eyes. "Please... _Now._ Aerial will show you out."

Ranma seemed frozen in time until her mouth closed. Ranma's gaze fell to the luxurious cream carpet at her feet. "I... I'll just get my clothes then."

The disappointment in her voice was readily apparent, but Kodachi steeled herself; refusing the urge to comfort...

_...Her friend?_

Kodachi turned back. Ranma was gone.

* * *

**The Bad Cut**  
Chapter **THREE**

* * *

**A**nd so ended another day.

While the day hadn't quite run its course, it had for Ranma Saotome, currently heiress to Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. The sun still hung high in the afternoon sky and though the shadows of the buildings were slowly elongating around her, the long haired redhead was all but ready to file this particular day where many others had been filed: a mental filing cabinet filled with the memories of shitty days past. These recollections didn't have a specific order per se, but they did share an indefinable hierarchy and this particular day would rank as superior to many of its brethren.

_'Another one bites the dust,' _Ranma thought in an acerbic tone as the rejection replayed through her mind's eye yet again. Of course she knew the odds going in. Not many reacted well to the curse and it was hard to blame them. She herself hadn't reacted well either, especially in being the recipient. It was getting harder and harder to make lemonade with it and here life had handed her yet another lemon. Kodachi's reaction was... _'Predictable,' _Ranma mulled over the thought until finding the right word. Predictable and to some degree worse than the fallout with Akane. She hadn't had time to really form any sort of bond with the Tendo girl. Kodachi on the other hand...

_'Ko-chan,'_ Ranma mouthed silently as she wandered an anonymous sidewalk through Nermia's suburbia. She sighed with the recollection and threw the name in with the day, locking both away under that header of shitty days. Ko-chan didn't exist. Ma-chan didn't exist. All that was left was what there had been before. She was still a martial artist. The _best _damn martial artist. Boy or girl, she didn't need...

_...Friends?_

The redhead huffed sourly at the thought and continued walking, ignoring the occasional stares that followed the long, unruly red mane. Pulling her attention away from the what-if's of life, Ranma set a definite course for the dojo where the first order of business would be to hack the troublesome growth off and down into something more manageable. The second order of business...

_'...Damned if I know,'_ The martial artist chuckled with dead amusement._ 'Maybe light a fire under the old man's furry panda ass to find another whisker.'_

That vague course of action was better than none at all and it allowed Ranma to assume a more purposeful stride that took her to the nearest fence top to intersect with a shortcut across the canal in order to shave a good five minutes off her transit back to the dojo. Her hair, on the other hand had different ideas and bounced with her every movement; around her shoulders, over her eyes and generally made itself a supreme nuisance. Its demise at the hands of a pair of scissors couldn't come too soon.

Ranma finally reached the Tendo compound and the property wall was negotiated with ease. A quick hop and she was over and walking across the courtyard's grass, doorway in sight. The redhead was inside a moment later, kicking her Chinese slippers carelessly to the corner with her primary goal in mind: Hair. Even so, her stomach had convinced her to take a side quest to the kitchen in the hopes of finding a quick snack before the hair met its fate. Ranma cleared the hallway, entered the living room and promptly stopped dead in her tracks.

There was Kasumi in a plain blue and white dress accompanied by Nabiki in her casual tee and shorts. Even Akane was present wearing her own yellow tee and slim pants. Off to the right, Mister Tendo stood apart from the group, watching the group curiously, but it wasn't any single one of them that held her attention. It had been a bad day. That bad day was being aggravated by uncooperative female biology _still_ playing the equivalent of baseball in her gut. Her ego had taken a similar beating. And now _this_. Ranma Saotome's gaze narrowed on their newest guest, the object of her displeasure.

"What's _she_doing here?"

'She' was Chinese. 'She' had purple hair. 'She' had, up until several hours ago, been set to kill her. The icy question announced Ranma's arrival clearly and the Tendo sisters turned, parting just enough to allow Ranma a better gaze at Shampoo. The Amazon looked like she had been run over by a bus. It caused the redhead to crack the slightest hint of a perverse smile. It not only looked like she had been run over by a bus, but the bus had decided to back up and parallel park on top of her. Her face was a patchwork of black and blue while a literal patch was tapped over one eye. Shampoo's left arm hung in an expertly prepared sling that told the martial artist she had seen professional treatment, while her lower torso was likewise bandaged.

The splint bound left leg was noted almost as an afterthought as Ranma waited for an answer while Shampoo stared back at her.

All three sisters looked uncertain and not entirely willing to volunteer the information to the irritated martial artist, but Nabiki stepped forward to bear the brunt of the bad news. "She needed help Saotome. We couldn't just leave her there."

Ranma tilted her head as if chewing on the statement mentally. After a moment those glacial blue eyes flicked back to Nabiki. "But what's she doing _here_?"

"Ah, she, um," Nabiki hesitated with the redhead's emotionless tone, looking back down to the stone face Amazon sitting on their couch. The middle Tendo sister motioned in her direction with a nod. "Doctor Tofu insisted-"

"Well she can _un-insist _her way out the-"

Shampoo interrupted Ranma's caustic remark by shakily rising to her feet. Kasumi ducked in to help, proffering the girl a crutch that had been leaning at the other end of the couch. The girl took it with the slightest deferential nod and stabilized herself, then slowly made her way around the chabudai to confront Ranma directly. Ranma in turn held her ground since the Amazon assassin was no longer a threat to her person in any way that mattered.

_'But damned if I'll let her get in another kiss,'_The redhead resolved silently as Shampoo hobbled closer. She closed to within a meter and stopped, favoring Ranma with a penetrating stare and brown eyes. Ranma merely stared back, all but willing the girl to try something.

And she did just that.

The lavender haired Amazon began to lower herself shakily, setting aside the crutch as she found the stability of both knees. Ranma's first impulse was to help the girl in distress, but that impulse had been effectively curbed by the day's activities. So she watched. Kasumi, however, was right by her side with the first grunt of pain, but Shampoo waved her away. The Chinese teen settled down and then dipped into a low, subservient bow to the floor.

"What... What is she doing?" Akane wondered aloud, directing the question to the closest sister available. Nabiki simply shook her head without a clue and watched the scene play out. After several seconds of silence, Shampoo spoke in pitched mandarin.

"Wǒ shǔyú nǐ."

Ranma was just opening her mouth to clarify the statement when Nabiki interrupted with her own translation, furiously flipping through a small red pocket book. A queer look settled on her face as she spoke it aloud. "I belong to... you?"

Ranma blinked. Then blinked again, staring down at the girl who had yet to retrieve from her kneeling posture. Only one thing came to mind and the thought was translated directly into words. "Oh, hell no."

"That can't be right," Nabiki murmured, flipping through the pages to find possible alternate meetings.

Ranma, all but knew it was. It somehow fit with the whole defeated Amazon deal: Lose a match, kill the winner. Have your life spared by the winner... She interrupted Nabiki's progress with her growing consternation. "You brought her here, so you take her back."

The ice queen blinked, her page turning stalling. "Back where?"

"Back to the hospital!" Ranma snapped, glancing down at the immobile girl at her feet. "Let them patch her up so she can stumble on back to China or somethin'! I went through hell just to get rid of her, dammit!"

"We _can't_," Nabiki said, understanding the frustration of her sister's maybe-maybe not fiancé to a degree. She had been ringside for their fight, after all. Regardless, she sighed her own frustration. "Doctor Tofu helped patch her up the best he could without needing... _substantiation _for her. _Legal_ substantiation."

"And...?" Ranma pressed, unsure where the Tendo was going with her explanation.

"There's no way she's in the country legally, Saotome," Nabiki returned edgily, trying to will her point into the martial artist. "You know it, I know it and if we send her back to a hospital, the authorities will eventually know it. And _then _they'll ask how she got so badly injured. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be part of an international incident!"

"I could give a-"

"Oh, she can stay here until she feels better," Kasumi volunteered helpfully, prompting both Ranma and Nabiki to boggle at the eldest Tendo sister.

"And this day just keeps getting better and better," The martial artist groused to herself even as Soun finally saw fit to insert himself into the conversation.

"Now Kasumi -chan, we simply don't have the room for another guest," The Tendo patriarch tried to insert some manner of reason into her charitable offer.

The eldest sister merely smiled serenely. "She can sleep in the guest room with Ranma."

Ranma all but choked on her own tongue with the suggestion. If there was a choice between sleeping in the same room with the snoring Panda or sleeping in the same room with her own personal Chinese Amazonian assassin, Ranma clearly knew which evil she would partake in. Ranma thus jabbed her thumb to the room in question. "And where's my old man gonna sleep?!"

"As a martial artist I'm sure he's slept in a dojo on occasion," Kasumi continued with that unwavering, and in Ranma's opinion, increasingly creepy smile. "I'll ensure he has the proper bedding for a good night's rest."

"How about I sleep out there with him?" The alarmed redhead pushed back edgily, folding her arms defensively. "She can have the room to herself!"

"But then who would take care of her?" Kasumi inquired innocently, her head lolling off to the side as if to consider the possibility before deciding for herself; as if the entire question had been rhetorical in nature. "She is your responsibility after all."

Rnama's mouth snapped open to deny the eldest sister's logic, only to have Soun attempt to insert himself back into the conversation.

"Ah, Kasumi, we can't-" Soun raised his hand to interject, only to be overridden by his other daughter's concern.

"But...! but...!" Akane eyed her sister with a measure of uncertainty. "Ranma's a boy! And Shampoo... She's... Isn't that...?"

"...Perverted?" Ranma finished in a bland tone, rolling her eyes.

"Yes!" Akane shot back with a glare.

"Ranma looks like a girl to me, so I'm sure it'll be fine." All eyes snapped back to Kasumi with the simplistic rationalization as she departed the living room to acquire the requisite linen. They tracked the eldest until she paused, smile brightening. "And then we can see about your hair, Ranma-kun!"

With that she was gone, leaving the room in silence for a solid minute before anyone spoke. Soun finally mobilized, chasing after his eldest daughter but it was Ranma who spoke first, shaking her head while fingering her long hair. "Your sister is super scary."

"You don't know the half of it," Nabiki agreed finally, then turned her attention back to the still kneeling Chinese girl. "We can't leave her like that, however."

Much as Ranma hated to admit it, Nabiki was probably right, so she returned her efforts to the subservient Amazon by crouching down to her level. "Look, get up already. How about we help fix ya up and send you home, sound good?"

"Wǒ méiyǒu jiā," Mandarin met Ranma's ear once more, prompting her to cock an eyebrow. Finally Shampoo looked up for the first time since kneeling to stare up at Ranma. Japanese flow haltingly from her mouth. "Must stay."

"Something about having no home," Nabiki resumed her translation activities, flipping through the language book's pages.

The redhead's thoughts returned to her earlier conclusion concerning the Amazon code and she really didn't like the hypothesis that was forming with Nabiki's translation. Something about belonging to her and the part where she couldn't she go home. Ranma put the theory to the test.

"Honor... honor... Ah, 'duìxiàn' I think," The martial artist picked through her limited Chinese vocabulary. The accented mandarin earned Shampoo's undivided attention as Ranma turned back to Nabiki. "What's 'debt'?"

Nabiki flipped through the red book's pages until she found the entry. "Zhàiwù, I think."

Ranma nodded and turned back to Shampoo, piecing the phrase together. "Duìxiàn zhàiwù?"

Shampoo blinked as her mind pieced together the mangled wreck of Mandarin, but the intent was clear enough. She nodded. "Shi."

"That doesn't mean what I think it means, does it?" Nabiki let the book close as she watched the girl nod yes and Ranma's shoulders slump as a result.

"I'm thinkin' it does," Ranma returned with a hint of depression tinting her voice. "I seriously don't need this crap."

With her purpose in life now clearly defined for the redhead, Shampoo struggled to return to an upright stance, shakily re-acquiring her crutch with one hand to prop herself. Once she had stabilized, Shampoo directed a deferential nod toward the redhead.

"Nǐ de mìnglìng, qíngfù."

The page turning began anew and after a couple minutes, Nabiki hesitated, her eyes flicking back between the book and Ranma. After another moment she merely shrugged. "Well that's convenient, I guess."

"What?" Ranma eyed the middle Tendo warily.

"She said, 'Your command, Mistress.'" Nabiki replied with slightest edge of humor. With that, she threw the book to Ranma who caught it on reflex. Nabiki pushed herself off the end of the couch. "All yours. Ask me to translate anything else and I'll start charging for services rendered... Or bang my head against the wall, whichever comes first."

Ranma's eyes flicked between the Tendo and the book as she departed, finally settling on Shampoo herself. The girl stood, or rather leaned into the crutch with no intention of going anywhere until she was apparently so ordered. The pair stared at one another for a solid minute before Akane stomped over, joining the Amazon's side with a threatening look.

"Well I don't care what Kasumi says, she's not staying in with-" Akane was in the process of tugging on the Chinese girl's lavender silk sleeve to pull her away from Ranma when Shampoo jerked her arm back forcefully, favoring the youngest Tendo with a frosty countenance.

"No touch." Shampoo menaced in barely comprehensible Japanese. Akane blinked and stepped back, slightly stunned by the rebuke from a fellow member of the same sex.

Akane stood in place before her reactions finally caught up to her thoughts, resulting in the feeling she had been slighted. "I was just trying to help!"

"Boy, that sounds familiar," Ranma quipped acerbically as Akane retreated from the room. The Tendo sibling sent a glare back at her and stalked out, leaving Ranma and Shampoo alone in the room. The redhead gave Shampoo a long, searching look and sighed, flicking a particularly annoying strand of long red hair back over her shoulder. "What am I gonna do with you, anyway?"

The Chinese teen remained silent, pushing any hope that Ranma had for successfully removing Shampoo from her life further and further away. _'Like everything else in life,' _The martial artist through bitterly as she was forcibly reminded of the dragon whisker. Regardless, the Amazon was still a problem; especially in her current condition... A condition directly attributed to her actions as Kasumi had indirectly reminded her. _'Dammit,'_Ranma groused as she unwittingly assumed more responsibility for her welfare. "Fine, but I can't just leave you like that."

The Amazon merely waited expectantly for her to give an order, so Ranma finally broke down and gave her one, beckoning her to follow. "C'mon let's go already. You're gonna need rest. This way. Zūnxún."

The mandarin focused Shampoos attention and she did indeed follow... Or rather hobble behind Ranma until they encountered the guest room. She slid the door open and pointed inside. "Qíyú."

Shampoo fixed the redhead with a suspicious look but simply nodded. Ranma slid the door closed behind her and the last of her determination fled her body for the day. She slumped against the sealed guestroom door and let loose a sigh of relief.

_'Like hell I'll be sleepin' in there tonight.'_

* * *

"I said give it here, old man!"

**X**ian Pu jerked awake with the rancorous, feminine screech and in the process strained muscles she had no right straining. Pain coiled through her body, prompting an involuntary hiss as consciousness was forcefully inserted in place of an uneasy slumber. her brown eyes blinked open and a mixture of confusion and alarm overcame her with the unfamiliar setting she now found herself sitting upright within.

A room. Spartan. Two futons. Her attention glided from one detail to the next as she took in the features of the room she had woken up in. The only illumination was that from outside beyond the curtain where it was most obviously daylight; morning unless she missed her guess. Something breakable crashed beyond the curtain, prompting enough interest in the lavender haired girl to try slide herself over to the window for a look. Even that was a painful endeavor for the Amazon as she pulled herself up to the wall and up just enough to nudge the curtain aside.

That was all it took. Cold hard reality set in as she watched a redheaded girl hand spring out of a barrage of panda paws, land lightly, then ducking to evade another swipe before charging after the animal. Xian Pu let the curtain slide shut and slumped back down against the wall as her will to live quite literally faded in that moment. The redhead. Her panda. Xian Pu clenched a fist with the recollection of yesterday's events. She had been _beaten_. Not just beaten, but rendered unconscious and left to the mercy of her enemy. The memory flashed through her mind's eye- the first recollection she had of waking up after the loss had quite literally been a reflection of her own face, red and bleeding. The mirror just happened to be the very steel of her sword imbedded only centimeters from her cheek.

In that moment she knew her fate was sealed.

The former Amazon warrior's attention returned to the here and now with a resigned sigh, then set to the task of actually standing. That in and of itself was a painful ordeal, but she managed using the wall at her back as balance. She glanced at the crutch leaning against a nearby dresser but decided against its use. The healer the other Japanese girl had taken her to had done a fair job at popping the joint back into place and she was an Amaz- Xian Pu's thought process dulled with regret. No, she could no longer name herself as amongst their ranks. Still, the crutch was unnecessary. She would endure the pain. The pain let her know she was still alive. The pain reminded her of just how far she had fallen. The pain...

...She _deserved _the pain.

_'Failure,' _Xian Pu nodded with the thought. That was the proper way of things now. She was less than an Amazon and less than even a male. She was a servant and it was time she stepped into the role of her new, pathetic existence. Shampoo hobbled to the door while pain accompanied her every step. Sliding the door open was a minor feat, but the purple haired warrior managed and exited the guest room, stepping out of the hallway where the smell of freshly prepared food assaulted her senses. Her stomach produced and undignified rumble but she ignored it and took up a slow, deliberate pace out into the living room where she caught sight of one of the family residence setting the table.

With little idea of how to begin her new role, the girl wobbled into the living room where the table was already half set. Three of the seven places had food set and the person setting the table could be heard, humming in the kitchen around the corner. Xian Pu crouched down and began to gather one of the settings for herself- three plates total balanced precariously up and down her left arm and in hand while the still sling born arm was only strong enough to carry the tea cup without stressing the limb. The pain was ever present, but she managed slowly. The outside door to the patio and courtyard beyond was already ajar, allowing her to nudge it open carefully to exit the house where she was greeted to the sight of open combat between the Panda and her redheaded mistress.

_'Ranma,' _She categorized the girl and felt a seething hatred well up from within her. Xian Pu indulged in it then let her anger flow away with a resigned sigh. Ranma had proven her better two times in a row. Ranma had spared her life in mortal combat. She was Ranma's property now unless she somehow acquired the skill to defeat one of the elders to officially regain her status...

_'...And perhaps I'll grow wings tomorrow,' _The girl thought bitterly. Still, it was a chance... A distant, nigh unobtainable chance, but quite literally the only one she had short of her new mistress granting a request slit her own wrists.

Her eyes returned to the action just as the her mistress dodged a stubby Panda kick, then was nearly blindsided by its claw. The girl's arm flashed up and she took the swipe squarely on the shoulder. While the redhead's general features were the same, her hair had undergone yet another transformation, from the long tangles of last night to a polite, almost pixie like crop that bounced with her movements.

"Oh my, shouldn't you be in bed?" The voice came from behind, but Shampoo ignored the melodic Japanese.

The voice, however, did catch the redhead's attention, who in turn spared a quick look. The look turned into a stare as she noted the former Amazon's unexpected presence. It was also more than long enough for the panda to exploit the opening. It drove a bear fist into the girl's stomach, causing her eyes to bulge a she was manhandled skyward and thrown directly into the koi pond. She impacted with a violent splash and the Panda dusted its paws together as if its job were well done. Its opponent surfaced from the frothing water, sputtering indignantly as the animal sauntered off the field of battle, up to the porch then paused, noting the purple haired teen's presence for the first time. She stared up at it as it stared down until it simply shrugged and continued on to the door behind her.

The lull in action finally allowed Xian Pun her first opportunity to... _serve _her new mistress. The very idea made her want to cringe, but she suppressed it and hobbled out to the redhead who had waded back ashore to wring out her clothing. She was also keeping a healthy eye on her wobbling ex-assassin as she closed, then stopped by the very rocks Ranma now sat on. With considerable effort, the purple haired girl set down the tea cup, a plate of rice, a shallow bowl of misu and another with cold green-brown noodles.

"Wǒ suǒ fúwù de qíngfù."

Ranma looked from the noodles to the girl and back several times, trying to connect the dots. Given the girl's behavior yesterday, it wasn't hard and she waved the girl off with a nervous smile. "Ya don't have to. Go on back ta China. You're free! Really! Ah, free...? Zìyóu?"

While half of what the girl was saying was unintelligible, the mandarin came across clearly and Shampoo shook her head, struggling for the Japanese words herself. After a moment, she shook her head and pointed at the martial artist. "You. Mistress."

"I ain't no mistress," Ranma scrunched her brow in overt frustration, then looked over the girl's shoulder as if something had distracted her. Ranma glanced back, fully intent on solving ending the encounter quickly. "Look, um... you eat this. And ah, do whatever. Me and my old man are gonna have a talk."

With that the pixie cut redhead hopped up and hurried off around her, prompting Shampoo to watch curiously, then turn back to contemplate the dishes she had set out on the rocks. The ex-Amazon shrugged and took up the pair of chopsticks balanced on the plate.

She had been ordered to eat it, after all.

* * *

**H**aving started breakfast without the martial artist and minus one place setting, the rest of the family could only stare as Genma Saotome dangled what looked to be some sort of ramen noodle before his face; head tilted as if trying to decide what to do with it.

"Um, Genma-kun?" Soun asked timidly, watching his old friend contemplate the noodle in question. It did little to jar the bald martial artist from his study of the noodle, prompting the Tendo patriarch to try again. "Is that noodle..."

"...Salvation, Soun old buddy." Genma advised in a completely serious tone that directly conflicted with his humorous wiggling of the noodle. With that, one grown man and three teenage girls watched as Genma Saotome lifted a portion of his bandanna and applied the noodle to his head.

"I swear breakfast gets more and more entertaining each and every day the Saotomes are here," Nabiki deadpanned as she watched him continue to apply the ramen noodle to various parts of his cranium.

"Would you like another noodle, Mister Saotome?" Kasumi offered helpfully, picking one out of her own soba bowl and proffering it to him from the tip of her chopsticks. It was apparently enough of a reminder as to how foolish he looked and Genma pulled his own noodle away, directing a polite smile toward the eldest daughter.

"Ah, no thank you, Kasumi-chan," He shook his head, then returned his attention back to the noodle where the serious mask of concentration resumed.

"Dammit, old man!"

"Ranma!" Genma's stern gaze swung upon the girl who had just stomped across the threshold of the living room, interrupting her as he held the noodle out before her. "How does it work, Boy?"

"I just knew you were gonna keep it for yourself!" She accused direly, though the potent glare she held for her father was lessened by the short crop of cute hair that had been inflicted upon her the night before. She crossed her arms, doing her level best to reinforce the emotion. "And why the hell should I tell you?! I need it way more!"

"Son, you have no idea of the pain and horror that come with baldness," Genma sternly explained to his son-turned=daughter. "Besides, I was able to obtain _two _whiskers. Show me how it works and I'll let you have the other."

The redhead looked far from convinced and favored her father with a half lidded gaze. "Yeah, and just where'd ya get em?"

"One of my contacts, of course," Genma stated imperviously, twirling the noodle as if it were now some toy. "He talked to somebody who talked to somebody who knew of a supplier."

_"Right_," Ranma rolled her eyes. "And since you ain't got no money, I'm thinkin' somebody and somebody is missin' a noodle right now... Oh, wait._ Two _noodles."

"Nonsense," The elder martial artist turned away from his pseudo daughter's sarcasm as if the accusation was beneath him. "Our transaction was completely above the board."

"_Surrre_ it was," The girl drawled, clearly disbelieving his testimony and held out a waiting hand. "Tell you what, _you _hand over that noodle and I'll see what I can do for ya."

Genma turned back to the neo girl with a narrowed eyes and the pair stared one another down until Nabiki interjected, raising her hand as if in class.

"Um, hello?" She waved even though neither girl nor father figure took their eyes off one another. "What's so special about a ramen noodle again?"

"Fine, here." Genma sniffed, flicking the noodle in hand at Ranma, who caught it between fingers. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at it then raced past the table, its occupants and Genma himself, who in turn began sputtering after her. "Get back here! Tell me how it works, ungrateful boy!"

The girl disappeared around the corner in a blur and water was heard running. A male yell was heard moments later. "YES!"

It was followed within seconds by a cry of despair and a string of curses in a female voice. Stomping footsteps foretold the family of Ranma's arrival and she rounded the corner back into the living room with darkened wet clothing and a sour disposition. The red hair that now fell to below shoulder length held everybody's attention and the girl flicked the wet noodle back at her father where it slapped against his face.

"Hope you didn't pay too much for that, old man," Ranma shook her head as she walked past to her place at the table, only to realize it was the only one barren of any food stuffs. "Where's the-" Ranma's speech stalled and she turned out to the window to see Shampoo eating by the courtyard exactly as she had been ordered to. The redhead's mouth snapped shut and she sighed with tested patience. "Right."

"It was very kind of you to share your breakfast," Kasumi smiled kindly, prompting Ranma to fix her own weak smile. The eldest Tendo put her finger to her chin in thought, as if remembering something. "I believe Tofu-san sent word that Shampoo should stop by for a follow up visit."

Ranma noted Kasumi was still looking at her and the implication was crystal clear: _She _was the one expected to escort her Amazon pain in the neck to the doctor's office. The martial artist glanced over to her father, who was mumbling something about the noodle he continued to pull and stretch, as if the activity would somehow imbue what was obviously a plain ramen noodle with magic.

_'Yay. The fat panda or crazy Amazon choice again,' _Ranma thought dryly, at least until Kasumi made it even tougher.

"Oh, and can you return the medical books I borrowed as well, Akane-chan?"

Akane Tendo's head snapped from her alternating view of her would-be fiancée's longer hair to her own sister with wide eyes. "What?! Why am I being punished?!"

"And since when is taking books back to Doctor Tofu punishment, Akane-chan?" Nabiki's head lolled to track her sisters indignant expression with a bemused smile. The younger sister realized the gaff abruptly and her demeanor collapsed into embarrassment as she sought to avoid eye contact.

"That is.. ah, I meant..." Akane floundered while Ranma simply watched, slightly amused herself. An irritated look was the redhead's reward until the eldest sister spoke again.

"Thank you, Akane-chan," Kasumi favored her sister with a gentle smile as if she hadn't even noticed the her initial bluster or subsequent embarrassment. Ranma's own humor over the matter abruptly turned to ash as the sister took notice of the new red hair. The martial artist could almost swear there was an unholy gleam in her eyes accompanying the smile now. "And when you get back, we can style your hair again since it seems to have grown back! Wouldn't that be nice?"

Ranma's mouth opened to protest then closed as the eldest sibling smiled upon her with all the innocence in the world. The Saotome's cheek twitched as she force the smile again. "Heh-heh, yeah. _Again_."

With that, the eldest Tendo began to collect the spent dishes and made her way back to the kitchen, leaving Akane to stare and Ranma grumbling in her wake. The martial artist shook her head at the injustice of it all and decided to take her own leave, returning to the back door.

"Boy, where do you think you're going?" Genma queried in a gruff tone that prompted Ranma to stop and stare at his father with bland look that indicated it should have been painfully obvious _where _she was going. It was for her, after all... Painful and obvious.

"Look, the sooner I get Miss Amazon out there out of my hair, the better," Ranma replied edgily. "If that means takin' her to the doctor to fix her up, then I'm all over it."

"Then you'll be taking Akane with you." Genma ordered. Ranma rolled her eyes as Soun happily chimed in.

"Yes, Akane. You can return your book with Ranma." Soun nodded happily.

"But-!"

It was the only protest she would be allowed as Kasumi returned from the kitchen for another stack of plates. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Akane-chan."

The youngest sister's gaze flicked from one parent to the other, then Kasumi and finally Ranma who waited by the back door. The redhead produced an uncaring shrug and opened the door to depart for the outside world. A grumpy frown flickered upon Akane's face. "Baka."

Lacking any other option to extricate herself from the situation the girl sighed and rocked to her feet, grabbing the book her sister had set beside her to follow the martial artist. Five minutes later an uneasy silence floated between the three as they walked, or in Shampoo's case, hobbled down the streets of Nerima on their way to Doctor Ono Tofu's practice. Ranma kept a cautionary eye on the Amazon and while she was sure the girl was no longer a threat, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't just fall over and had thus far refuse either her or Akane's assistance.

Akane likewise kept an eye on the Chinese girl, but the silence was getting to her. There were too many unanswered questions surrounding the her and the martial artist. Why was Ranma still a girl? What did noodles have to do with it? Why did she have an Amazon assassin trying to kill her, anyway?

_'Not that I can't sympathize,' _Akane decided grumpily from the privacy of her thoughts, glancing up at the martial artist easily balanced atop the fence running parallel to their sidewalk path. Ranma glanced down at the girl, noting the attention. After several seconds of study, the martial artist produced a patronizing smile.

"Ask me out on a date if you're gonna stare like that."

"Who would want to date YOU?!" Akane snapped back and hurled the thick medical book in hand at Ranma, who caught it easily and began to study the tome. Akane's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. "And give that back!"

"The Concise Medical Encyclopedia," Ranma flipped through pages as if interested in the contents all while maintaining her nigh unnatural balance atop the fence. She cocked her head, ignoring Akane's simmering below as she turned a page, cocking her head curiously. "Huh. Learn something new every day."

"You don't have to be such a jerk!" Akane stomped with bluster, causing Ranma to pause in her fence walking for the first time. She pulled her attention from the book and favored Akane with a lidded stare.

"And you don't have to be such a macho hothead." She rebuked coolly, fully willing to indulge the Tendo in her staring match. After a full thirty seconds of simmering, Akane turned her nose up at the redhead and resumed her path of travel with a contemptuous sniff, passing Shampoo. Ranma shrugged and returned her attention to the book, hopping down to escort Shampoo now that Akane had taken the lead.

They caught up with the youngest Tendo several minutes later as she waited for them just outside the clinic with a grumpy expression on her face. This time Ranma simply snapped the thick book she had been thumbing through closed and tossed it to her as they passed. "You can thank me later."

Akane's expression crinkled but she managed to hold her tongue, following the redhead and lavender haired Chinese girl into the office. Two patients later and Doctor Tofu was hovering over the Shampoo while the Akane and Ranma watched. He probed her left arm with light fingertips and slowly began to test its range of motion. He smiled at the girl. "Tell me when it hurts."

No comprehension was found in her expression and Ranma pulled out a Chinese translation book- the very same one Nabiki had remanded to him last night. After a good deal of page turning, Ranma pieced together a phrase.

"Ah, Gàosu dāng tā... shānghài?" Ranma asked hesitantly and to her surprise, the girl nodded. Tofu got to work cycling the arm through its range of motion. Whatever advisement Ranma had given, however, never translated into Shampoo's actions as she would wince in obvious pain, but never once requested the doctor to stop.

"As I've told Akane-chan before, I don't necessarily condone violence," Ono Tofu lectured reasonably as he worked, pressing several points along the girl's arm. "Especially at this level."

Ranma merely shrugged. "Wasn't givin' me much choice."

"So Nabiki-chan told me," The physician nodded, moving down to the leg to test its range while Shampoo herself stared at the arm, moving it with a minimum of pain. "I appreciate your economy in light of the situation; everything appears easily fixed... Another reason why I've chosen to allow the dojo to handle the situation discretely."

_'Really wish ya hadn't,' _Ranma thought at the doctor, then found Akane and the doctor staring at her. After a minute of puzzling, she scratched the back of her head with embarrassment. "Ah, said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Ahem," Ono Tofu coughed, politely ignoring the missive. "Regardless, Nabiki has advised me that her status is rather_ indeterminate _at the moment. While I'll be happy to provide whatever assistance I can, what you actually decide to do with her is up to you."

_'SHIP HER BACK!'_Ranma's mind screamed at her consciousness while another portion couldn't help but to note that the Chinese girl fell squarely under the 'you broke it, you fix it' clause of her martial arts code. She hadn't meant to hurt the girl so badly...

_'...Okay, maybe I did,' _Ranma admitted to herself with a hint of guilt, remembering how thoroughly she had lost any and all patience with the girl. That in itself was disconcerting and she knew exactly where to place the blame. _'Stupid girl body.'_

"We'll take good care of her," Akane responded in an upbeat tone and smiled for the doctor who then returned his own easy smile.

"I'm sure you will, Akane-chan," Tofu nodded agreeably. Akane blushed slightly with the attention, prompting Ranma to roll her own eyes and insert herself into the moment.

"And then we'll ship her back."

"How can you just say that!" Akane's mood flipped like a switch and the girl turned a perturbed stare onto Ranma. "You're the one who did this!"

"Because she was about to turn your sister into a pancake!" Ranma pushed back with nerves still raw from uncooperative biology and current events. She jabbed a thumb at the Chinese girl on the examination table. "Do you know how many times that chick has popped up in the middle of the night swinging a blade for my throat?!"

"Probably because you did something perv-!"

"Girls," Tofu spread his hands out patiently, emoting an uneasy smile while Shampoo simply watched the argument go back and forth. Both quieted down, staring at the doctor. "Regardless, I've done what I can for now. " The physician turned back to the former Amazon as if she were liable to understand him. "You should experience less pain now, though I'll ask you not to strain anything for at least a couple of weeks."

Ranma was rapidly flipping through the translation guide again to piece together a phrase. "Ah, less pain, no strain... Téngtòng jiào qīng, ah, um, méiyǒu yìngbiàn."

The chinese girl nodded hesitantly. "Shampoo understand."

"If that's settled, I have another patient in ten minutes," The doctor nodded and moved along side Ranma to pat her on the back. "Take good care of-"

The redhead's hand blurred up and intercepted it at the wrist, locking the doctors hand in a powerful vice. Crystal blue eyes held his surprised own, glinting with impatience. "That _ain't _happenin' again."

Akane's eyes widened with alarm with the girl's incomprehensible action. "What are you_ doing?!_"

The doctor tried to withdraw his hand, but would have sooner had better luck if it was rooted in cement, then produced a sheepish smile. "Of course not. My apologies."

Ranma held the hand a moment longer and allowed her stare to burrow into the doctor to ensure her displeasure over being manipulated was clearly conveyed, then let her hand snap open. Tofu retracted the immobilized limb and rubbed the tender joint even as Akane's temper spiraled out of control.

"You... you... _YOU!_" Akane's fists balled and she stomped over toward Ranma until the lethal hiss of steel being deployed intervened. Silver flashed through the air and the next thing the youngest Tendo knew, the cold length of a jian was being held at her throat. Akane's eyes slid down the line of steel, finding Shampoo's no nonsense gaze staring back.

_"No." _

She didn't speak it with nearly the fluency of Akane Tendo, but Shampoo's command when paired with the blade at the her throat made the meaning crystal clear. The action had even surprised Ranma as she stared at the purple haired girl holding the sword to his supposed fiancée's throat with her only good arm. She made a mental note in that moment. Crippled or not, the girl was still _dangerous_.

Doctor Tofu cleared his throat timidly, attempting to gain the trio's attention without provoking further hostilities. "No weapons in the examination room, please?"

The request wasn't aimed at either Shampoo or Akane, but Ranma herself. It took a moment to realize that she was the focus and the redhead blinked, coming to the realization that she was apparently the one expected to talk the former Amazon down. She sized up both girls, noting the grim countenance on Shampoos face and the pale complexion Akane held.

_'She would do it,'_ Ranma determined in that moment. The Chinese assassin would cut Akane Tendo down just as assuredly as her own self only twenty four hours before. _'For me?'_ The question bubbled up before meeting more cynical opposition. _'As if. It's that asinine honor debt thing.'_

The redhead shook her head and sighed, diving into the translation book one more, mumbling to herself. "Stop... withdraw... Release? Shìfàng."

Shampoo eyed the martial artist with silent inquiry but pulled the blade away nonetheless. Akane stood absolutely still for another moment before sucking in a deep, trembling breath to stagger back away from the Chinese girl. It took another sucking breath before she could produce speech once more and she did so by pointing at the lavender haired girl in panic.

"She would have killed me!"

"Welcome to my world," Ranma shook her head as mental fatigue weighed down on her... And it was still only just past 10am. "Look, just don't piss her off. We'll fix her up and send her back to China where she'll be out of both of our hair, alright?"

Akane's eyes flicked nervously back to the girl in question, then back to Ranma. It was hardly an offer she could refuse. "Fine."

Ranma arched a curious eyebrow at the reluctant concession, but nodded in kind.

"That doesn't make me your fiancée." The youngest Tendo sibling added quickly and Ranma favored her with a put out look.

"Duh?"

Akane opened her mouth to produce some form of retort, but her gaze quickly flicked back to Shampoo, who still held the jian in hand and who was still boring into her with an icy stare. It was enough to nudge her thought process onto another track. "I'm... I've got things to do."

_'Like not get skewered with a Chinese blade,' _Ranma thought after her with dark amusement as Akane sent a token bow Ono Tofu's way and exited the room hastily. She watched Shampoo flip her blade around. It abruptly disappeared, causing Ranma to stare for a moment before moving on. _'Gonna have to learn that one.'_

"I guess we're out, then," Ranma shrugged and gestured for Shampoo to follow. The girl cast a wary glance back at the doctor but followed, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"Guess things aren't working out so well between them, huh Betty?" Tofu frowned slightly at the skeleton hanging limply just to the side of his examination table. Of course, the pressure point had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now...

Betty of course didn't respond with words. Ono Tofu shrugged and was about ready to prep for his next appointment when he paused. The Doctor adjusted his glasses, noting a hairline fault running diagonally across the skeleton's skull. He cocked his head in wonder.

"What in the world?" He murmured curiously. It certainly hadn't been there before the visit. Betty's answer to the missive was likewise unexpected.

The whole top third of her cranium slid off at a diagonal angle, clattering to the floor.

* * *

**T**he departure of Ranma Saotome's male aspect from the student body of Furinkan High School had produced several unforeseen complications in the life of the Anything Goes Martial Artist; complications that were only coming to light as the week wore on. It was somewhat fascinating to watch the social dynamic around her shift even though she hadn't actually left. The guys were annoyingly upbeat with the absence of her 'brother' while the girls had gone out of their way to befriend her after the hair incident. She would normally have found the sympathetic girls annoying, but her own protected status had unexpectedly offered a subtle barrier between herself and the homicide of half the males in her class seeking to ask her out on a date. Of course, some of her other female classmates were overtly jealous, but Ranma didn't mind.

A smirk formed along her lips The redhead had learned early on in the martial arts world that envy was its own form of flattery. The smile slipped as the male portion of her ego reminded her of exactly what the other girls were jealous of.

_'Cursed to be a hot chick,'_ Ranma thought dully. '_Yay me.'_

Still there were worse things in life if she thought on the matter. After all, she could have been cursed to be a hot chick and inflicted with a hair curse that grew out whenever she attempted to return to her male aspect. Ranma rolled her eyes._ 'Check, check and double check.'_

With her ego thoroughly deflated, Ranma looked down from her fence top transit to the other two girls accompanying her, neither which she could really call friends. The first was Akane Tendo, of course, forced into accompanying her to school by two parents that just couldn't take 'no' for an answer. The youngest sister's only conversation consisted of suspicious glances at both lavender and redhead, to which Ranma would reply with her own patronizing smirks. Other than that, it was complete silence...

_'...Which is fine by me,'_Ranma shook her head mentally, then hopped from the fence to the sidewalk as the her chain link path came to end.

Her gaze flicked to the other female in attendance: Xian Pu.

What she was even doing following them to school was beyond Ranma's comprehension, but the former Amazon was doing a fair job of keeping pace in spite of the subtle limp in her gait and Ranma's multiple attempts to have her remain back at the dojo under Kasumi's supervision.

_'And what the hell am I going to do with her, again?'_ Ranma wondered with the subtle glance in the girl's direction. Tell her to wait outside like a puppy? Bring her into class for show and tell? The redhead snorted sarcastically from within the privacy of her thoughts. _'Yeah, this has swell day written all over it.'_

The trio of girls crossed the street in silence, none speaking to the other or even wanting to speak to the other as they turned onto the final sidewalk that would bring the gates of Furikan High into view. The usual cliques hung outside the gates, riding the clock down to the start of the school day with chatter and gossip...

...That ceased instantly as the trio of girls came into range and passed. Ranma's study flicked from group to group, noticing the attention now riveted upon their person as they closed upon the entrance. The atmosphere around them hung with expectancy, though why was beyond the martial artist as sidelong glances followed their every step. It smelled like a challenge if she didn't know any better and she had seen enough of those to know. The who, what, where and why, however, were still-

Ranma, Akane and Shampoo finally reached the gates and the source of the expectation suddenly became quite clear. Just inside the school courtyard stood a mob of students- All male and sporting every manner of improvised weaponry. Cricket bats. Hockey sticks. Badminton sticks. The male masses instantly locked onto them as they stepped inside the gate and their chatter ceased as well.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Akane surprised Ranma with the outburst and for once, the girl's temper and balled fists weren't directed at her. "This again?!"

"But we love you Akane-chan!" One of the students from the back yelled, raising his baseball bat to the heavens. Another closer to the trio- this one in full baseball umpire padding -dropped to a knee pleading. "And you too, Ranma-chan!"

_"What?!"_The redhead blurted incredulously, disgusted by the passionate pledge.

"With your brother gone, it's our sacred duty!" A bald male student clad in a simple white gi explained excitedly.

"I'm right here, you idiots!" Ranma balked, jabbing a thumb at herself while Akane simply dropped her book bag, twisting her neck to work any kinks out. "Try anything and I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Yes!" Another crowed. "Only the strongest amongst us will be able to claim your hand!"

"That's not what I-!"

"Just beat them down already," Akane snapped back and stepped into her own martial arts stance. Her smoldering gaze narrowed on the mob. "That's the only language they understand anyway!"

"Exactly!" Another cried. Suddenly the crowd surged. _"ATTACK!"_

Ranma Saotome had barely enough time to gawk at their stupidity before the first ranks surged upon her. Violence was a language she was well versed in as well and she was more than happy to provide a practical demonstration in the light of such idiocy. Whereas Akane plowed into the Hentai Horde like an enraged berserker engine, Ranma stepped in to their charge gracefully, weaving in and out between students, leaning out of their attacks and unleashing focused, measured punishment with near impunity. Bats, fists and other sporting implements were evaded with utter ease; so much so it was barely worth the redhead's time to even be there as both girls tore a swath of pain and unconsciousness through the mob.

Two minutes later Ranma and Akane stood alone on the field of battle surrounded by inert male bodies. Those that managed to retain consciousness no longer spoke the language of violence, but that of pain as evidenced by their groans and wheezing. The redhead scanned the fallen with a smirk when a new female voice called from on high.

"Ranma-chan, three minutes!" Ranma twisted around, her vision tracking up the side of building 2a to find half her class hanging out her home room window. Amongst them was a mousey looking brunette with large, bouncing curls and wide circular glasses waving frantically down at them. "You're going to be late!"

_'Nanki, Keiko_,' The redhead recalled the girl's name reflexively. Two days ago they had been mere acquaintances. The next day she had somehow attached herself to Ranma during lunch and Ranma just didn't have the heart to shoo the overly talkative girl off. Keiko's friend Seko had joined them the following day. The paler black haired girl was almost Keiko's polar opposite personality wise and watched from the window beside her friend, nodding. Regardless of the circumstances concerning their familiarity, Keiko was right and she returned her attention to the mob with a chuckle. "Let's do this again sometime, okay?"

"You _would _wish that," Akane grumped but turned to follow Ranma until a new voice stopped both cold.

"How easily the chaff are cut from the wheat," Both girls eyes instantly locked onto the figure stepping out from behind a tree along their path. He was a figure both recognized instantly. Tatewaki Kuno favored both girls with a serene but supremely arrogant smile. "Their resolve is naught compared to the beauty my eyes behold."

"You put them up to this again, didn't you?!" Akane accused the upperclassman with a glare. Tatewaki merely folded his arms benevolently.

"With the sorcerer departed, the opportunity must be seized to purify your bosoms," The kendoist smiled for the pair and Ranma shook her head for the both of them.

"Look, you can either get out of the way or you can be purified by a good ass kickin'," Ranma explained without fanfare. "Personally, I'm all for the-"

"Mistress." Ranma's ultimatum was brought to a halt by a light tough on her shoulder. She glanced right and found Shampoo stepping around her person to interpose herself between the Kuno and the redhead herself. "I take."

It took another pass at the words for Ranma to guess the meaning and when she finally had, found it hard to produce any dissent when it came to Kodachi's idiot brother. "Um, sure?"

Shampoo nodded and stepped forward and as she did, Ranma's thoughts flashed back to the weekend and the blade Shampoo had put to Akane's neck. She added a condition to their match in a slightly panicked tone. "But don't kill him!"

"Indeed it is quite precipitous of you to retain an arms woman in order to preserve thy chastity," Tatewaki noted grandiosely, studying the new girl as she stepped forward in Ranma's stead. He pulled the wooden length of his bokken from its sheath on his hip and brought it to bare. "I will honor your servant's service by allowing her the pretext of combat, then spirit thy and the tigress Akane Tendo away on a date!"

Ranma stared at his blatant idiocy for several long seconds before shrugging. "Your funeral."

_"THEN I STRIKE!"_

It was every bit the slaughter the redhead was expecting. Tatewaki Kuno blurred forward with respectable speed, giving Shampoo barely enough time to step into a formal stance before forcing more direct action. The upperclassman's strike was enough to cleave stone through air pressure alone and almost caught the girl off guard, but like Ranma before, the former Amazon had already determined that the overkill inherent in the upperclassman's technique came at the cost of mobility. She was injured, but the graceful sliding pivot barely strained her as she evaded the strike outright. Tatewaki flashed by, completely exposing his left flank to counterattack.

Xian Pu took complete advantage of it.

_**THWaCK!**_

The ex-Amazon's hand rose like a scythe and with it, the bulbous mass of a colorful chui that smacked the kendoist upside the head less than a second later. The impact lifted the teen off his feet where he held a meter's worth of altitude for a moment before falling back to the earth like a bag of rice. Ranma, Akane and the rest of the Furikan student body watched Shampoo hold the massive weapon aloft for another moment before flipping it back into whatever ether it had been summoned.

"Stupid male." Shampoo sniffed, paying a token glance at her fallen opponent before returning to Ranma's sided. She nodded deferentially to her redheaded mistress. "We go."

Akane looked from the Kuno's crumpled mass, then to the lavender haired girl and back. It was hard to find any fault in her action and she nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Hey, we agree on something," Ranma threw her a cheeky smile, causing Akane's face to crinkle slightly as the martial artist took the lead to walk past corpse Kuno. She glanced down at upperclassman with the same smile. "Sorry for your lu-"

Kuno's arm suddenly shot upright even though the rest of his body never moved. Ranma blinked, all but certain the rest of him was still bereft of consciousness. His hand bore an envelope; an envelope Akane plucked for herself and examined before handing it to Ranma.

"Your _best friend_." She sniffed with a hint of contempt as Ranma took possession of the hand delivered correspondence. Tatewaki's own arm withered and died like a plant deprived of water, joining the rest of his unconscious body.

Ranma stared at the envelope and its flowing script advising her of the sender and recipient before her expression turned equally bland. She ripped the correspondence in half a moment later to Akane's surprise, letting the pieces fall back to Kuno's body. The redhead simply turned away without care and walked toward the building even as the school bell chimed.

It didn't, unfortunately, signify the end of the day's drama as Shampoo followed her like an obedient puppy. Ranma ignored her, at least until she began following her up the stairwell with Akane to their home room. The martial artist shook her head, glancing back at the lavender haired warrior. "Ya realize you ain't a student, right?"

"You. Mistress." Shampoo replied curtly, as if the words were likely to solve any difficulties they would encounter through her presence.

"You wanna explain it to her?" Ranma sent a pleading look over to Akane, who in turn rolled her eyes.

"Your problem, not mine." The youngest shook her head with a patronizing hint in her tone, then continued up the stairs ahead of the pair, leaving Ranma to glare in her wake.

After a moment to simmer over her own words being used against her, Ranma turned back to the Chinese teen. "Look, they ain't gonna let you in, so go home already."

Shampoo simply waited and Ranma sighed, returning back to the waiting stairwell where a few students favored them with odd looks as they passed. Two minutes later the redhead was predictably facing a somewhat perplexed homeroom teacher as the class watched curiously.

"And she's not a student?" Miss Koneka cocked her head, trying to resolve the situation for herself. She stared over the redhead to the taller girl behind her.

"Won't stop following me around." Ranma shrugged, having exhausted her own options in dealing with the girl. She couldn't fight Shampoo anymore and restraining a girl- an injured girl -just seemed...

"I see... I think," The black haired educator continued to stare, though Ranma could tell she didn't 'see' anything of the sort. Still, she was hoping understanding wouldn't actually be necessary for the woman to _do _something about her former assassin. Sure enough, the redhead wasn't disappointed as Miss Koneka rose from the seat behind her desk to confront Shampoo directly. "Miss, I'm afraid I'll have to escort you to the principal's office. Class, review chapter twelve until I return."

"Yeah, go with her." Ranma nodded hopefully. Shampoo looked unconvinced, but followed the educator's lead to the door. The pair exited and the door clicked closed. Ranma finally breathed a sigh of relief even as the class bombarded her with questions.

"Who was that?!"  
"A new student?"  
"She was cute!"  
"Are you both related?"

The martial artist ignored the inquiries as she walked back to her seat, simply relieved to be rid of her Chinese shadow. _'One crisis down, four thousand six hundred and twenty one to-'_

The door clicked open and Ranma turned as the class diverted their attention back to their returning teacher... Followed by a lavender haired Chinese girl. The martial artist blinked as Miss Koneka produced a vacant smile. "Class, I would like to introduce our newest student, Xian Pu."

"WHAT?!" Ranma gaped. Even Akane was wide eyed as Shampoo proceeded to the center of the chalk board to write her name in Chinese script. The redhead pointed at her adamantly. "She's not even-!"

"Xian Pu is from China and will be with us for the rest of the semester," The teacher explained patiently, ignoring Ranma's outburst entirely. "Please help her with any cultural and language barriers that may arise. Shampoo, please take a seat next to Saotome, Ranma."

The former Amazon avoided Ranma's incredulous stare as she walked down the aisle of desks to the third row and took her seat adjacent to the redhead. It took another moment for Ranma's brain to even think about reengaging, and her head whipped back to Akane as if to confirm she was witnessing the event as well. The youngest Tendo's eyes were almost as wide, confirming that neither the teacher's mandate nor Shampoo's presence were a hallucination.

Ranma jerked back to Shampoo with a whispered hiss. "What are you _doing?!_"

Shampoo blinked innocently. "Me. Student."

"You're not a student!" The martial artist rebuked edgily and the lavender haired Chinese girl shrugged.

"You. Mistress."

Ranma opened her mouth to argue the point, but was interrupted by their teacher's stern chiding. "Saotome-san, there will be plenty of time to visit with the new student later. Class, open your books to chapter twelve..."

The redhead's head thunked against the desk.

* * *

**R**anma Saotome cast a sour glance at the girl walking along side her, seemingly oblivious to the negative emotions radiating from the redhead. Shampoo had somehow managed to accompany her through all six periods throughout the day, convincing each and every one of the teachers that she was, in fact, a transfer student in spite of having no records or even the ability to speak fluent Japanese. Anybody questioning the fact, including Ranma herself on multiple occasions, usually found themselves holding buckets in the hallway.

Akane had made similar attempts with similar results, but unlike the martial artist, could actually opt out of the walk home and had decided to do so with Yuki and Sayuri instead. That left Ranma to walk home alone. With Shampoo.

_'What God did I piss off?'_ She grumped as the lavender haired girl kept an even pace with her while bemoaning the fact that Doctor Tofu had done _too good_ of a job patching her up. How to actually get rid of her was becoming more and more an exercise in frustration. _'Brainwashed,'_ Ranma shook her head mentally. It was the only way to explain how Shampoo was able to wedge herself into her school life. That in itself was intriguing once the majority of her intellect got past just how creepy it actually was._ 'That and her instant weapons technique...'_

Ranma glanced at the girl next to her, who in turn noted the attention and sent a studied look back of her own. The redhead's face crinkled, jerking her gaze back down her direction of travel away from the seductive lure of a new technique or two. _'Nope,'_ Ranma scrubbed the traitorous thought from her brain._ 'She's gotta go.' _

The only question was _how_.

The martial artist mulled over the question, pausing at a street corner for a moment in to wait for passing traffic before ignoring the cross walk sign to traverse the empty asphalt. Shampoo, of course, followed. The use of force was out of question. She was still hurt to a degree and hurt by her own hand no less. Lacking any sort of the original 'I kill!' shenanigans, simply kicking her ass was no longer an option. Calling the police, however, was looking better and better each time she visited the idea; regardless of Nabiki's initial reservations. _'Sure, there would be some explaining to do...'_

_'...And what's ta stop her from brain washin' them too?'_Ranma's intellect abruptly stumbled as another part of her brain inserted the decidedly unpleasant thought.

Shampoo could only wonder at the redhead's sudden jaw grinding as she followed her mistress around a corner to finally catch sight of the Tendo Dojo's property wall lining the block. For Ranma it was becoming an increasingly familiar sight. What wasn't a familiar sight was the large delivery van parked just outside the gates with workers wheeling out large parcels via handcart.

"What the...?" Ranma mumbled and increased her pace by a fraction as curiosity distracted her from the dilemma keeping pace beside her. Only one familiar face stood by the truck and that was Nabiki, who stood by attempting to lean into the truck's hold for a better look. Ranma stepped up beside her and the middle Tendo acknowledged her presence with the barest nod as she continued her investigation. The Saotome looked from her, then to the truck and back with the only question that mattered. "Ah, what's-"

"No clue." Nabiki commented, having fully expected the question. Her eyes tracked another box as it was wheeled off the truck and down a ramp the street by another mover. "Just showed up and started to unload the boxes. Won't even tell me what it is."

The martial artist followed her gaze to a man standing next to the unloaded stack of cargo who seemed to be scribbling notes on the clipboard he bore. He glanced up to check on his two subordinates progress, then in their direction. The foreman made direct eye contact with Ranma and blinked, then checked the clipboard quickly before nodding. He walked in their direction, dodging another cart-pulled box.

"Saotome, Ranma?"

Ranma blinked. Nabiki stared. "Ah, yah?"

"Ah, good," The dark haired man scratched the back of his head nervously. "You definitely match the description we were given. Give us about another five minutes, then we'll start unpacking and assembly."

"Of _what?_" Nabiki stared, watching as another box exited the truck.

"From _who?_" Ranma asked, trying to peer around the foreman's clipboard. _'Who in the hell would send me-'_

"Kuno, Kodachi," The man replied, ticking the end of his pen at the name listed on his paperwork. "The shipment contains-"

He didn't even get to finished the sentence as Ranma's delicate features turned to stone. "Send it back."

"What?"  
_"What!?"_

Both the foreman and Nabiki blurted the word simultaneously, though Nabiki's held a more incredulous note as they stared at the redhead and her suddenly bland attitude. After a moment of silence, the adult eyed his client carefully. "Miss, you didn't just say...?"

"Send it back," Ranma ordered firmly, now loud enough to where the other workers had halted their unloading. She motioned back to the truck. "Don't want it, don't need it."

"You're kidding, right?" Nabiki continued to blink at the martial artist as if she had grown a second head while Shampoo watched without comprehension. The middle sister looked from the closest box to Ranma. "You' re just going to toss this... this... What the hell is this stuff anyway?"

Nabiki pulled the foreman's clipboard toward her to get a look at the manifest. "...You're just going to toss this 'Professional Rythmic Gymnastics Practice Set' worth..." She pulled the clipboard back to confirm the insurance value. Her eyes widened a bit. "...thirty thousand yen away just like that?"

"Yeah." Ranma Saotome simply nodded and turned away to walk through the property gate. "That's _exactly _what I'm sayin'."

* * *

**Author's notes  
**Ah, fun stuff. Yes, I should be working on other items, but this is drawing my attention so suck it up ;) If you think you know where this is going, I have news for you... It only falls off the rails from here :D

**Chinese; **_You're going to have to give a pass on this one since google is the only Chinese I have access to. I'm quite sure my translations have issues, so unless you're volunteering to help, complaints in this department will fall on deaf ears :P_

**Ranma!Mandarin;** _Ranma knows a little mandarin here and there. Timeframes aside, I can't see him not learning at least a bit given how badly it blindsided him at jusenkyo. And funny how he is able to converse with the Dragon Whisker guy in the heart of China without need of a translator. I know I know... Simmer down, it's just another one of these plot license things._

**Amazons; **_Yep, taking license all day long here concerning Amazonian law. This could break any number of ways, but consider how Cologne punished Shampoo for failing her initial mission in canon? Cologne had to know Shampoo had zero chance of winning when she smacked her down into Jusenkyo under the guise of training. If that's the punishment for a 'soft' failure, what's the punishment for getting defeated in death match and having your life spared? Could be anything, but I'm taking up the excommunication banner as you can see. I know it seems heavy handed right now but you'll love it in the end, trust me._

**Class;**_ Japanese class usually consists of six periods with the Teachers rotating in while the kids are the ones who stay put. And yes, Shampoo got to them all :)Thanks Mageohki for some of the more relevant info here._

**Special Thanks;**_ Materia Blade and Holyknight. Likewise the peeps at Fanfiction Federation. My other prereaders have life issues so I'm wishing them and you my readers the best :)_


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